The whole truth and nothing but the truth
by DarkAngelclm
Summary: Katherine's return reveals the whole truth about Damon's feelings for Elena. How will she handle it? Is Katherine right about Elena really desiring Damon? Are Damon's feelings only one sided or does Elena truly feel the same?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: **

Damon's POV

That kiss felt strangely familiar. It seemed to be a little guarded as though trying to hide something from him and yet, at the same time, it felt as though something rough, cold and child-like was trying to claw its way out and force its way into the kiss, to get in touch with something it had been hidden away from forever. Damon frowned as he thought about it over and over again. He walked down the street, his hands in his pockets as he walked and his mind reeling over the kiss he had just experienced on the porch. It had not been what he was expecting it to be. Elena was warm, soft, caring…loveable. That kiss was nothing like that at all and it held an air of something from a past that Damon was trying to now bury ever since he had found out that Katherine was not in that tomb.

'That's it!'

Damon tensed and stopped in mid stride. That had not been Elena on the porch tonight. He had not poured out his soul and let down every wall he had ever built up around his feelings and exposed them to Elena. It had been Katherine pretending to be Elena. Damon felt sick to his stomach, and suddenly there seemed to be an almost bitter taste in his mouth as he thought about the kiss and his jaw clenched.

'Oh God!' he hissed out into the night air as another thought came crashing down over him.

Jenna had opened the door and seen them kissing, she had seen _Elena _and him kissing and she had told _Elena _to get inside. Katherine had been invited into the house. Damon's eyes grew wide with horror and not because Jenna and Jeremy were in danger of being shredded to bits if Katherine felt that that was what she wanted to do to entertain her, no it meant that Katherine could do that to Elena and this made Damon's blood seem to turn cold. He had to get back to the house now before Elena got back home because if anything happened to her…his body shivered with horror at the thought of that happening. There were people around still so Damon tried to hurry as best he could towards Elena's house.

'Please don't let me be too late,' he whispered to himself.

Elena walked up the porch stairs, talking to Stefan on the phone telling him about the fact that the dress and everything else she had been wearing seemed to have been picked up by someone else. She unlocked the front door and opened it after telling Stefan she loved him. As she closed the door there was a noise from the kitchen and Elena frowned. She walked down the hallway to the kitchen cautiously. As she walked into the kitchen she gasped when she noticed blood on the counter and John lying on the floor with a knife in his chest. Elena turned around to run for her phone that she had left on the table next to the door when she stopped in mid stride, her eyes growing wide with shock as she seemed to be staring at her own reflection.

Elena's heart was racing as she looked the woman over before her. She looked just like Elena, except this woman was glaring at Elena with a cold, vicious glare.

'Katherine,' Elena whispered.

'And you must be Elena, my twin….well in appearances at least,' Katherine replied as she looked Elena over in disgust. 'I honestly can not see what Damon would ever find appealing in you. Stefan I can understand. Stefan was always the good son.'

Katherine walked towards Elena and then began to circle her. 'Damon was never the good son, he always had that….bad boy streak in him and I suppose that's why I was drawn to him,' she said before stopping in front of Elena again, her eyes remaining cold and vicious. 'After all having just the good son around can be quite boring. Every woman needs a little taste of a bad boy once in a while, don't you agree?'

Elena glared at Katherine, clenching her teeth. 'No Katherine I don't because unlike you I believe in making a choice and my choice was the good son.'

Katherine laughed a musical, child-like laugh. 'Oh come now Elena, don't fool yourself and don't lie to me.' Katherine swiftly moved behind her and whispered in her ear. 'I'll bet that you've imagined what it would be like to be with Damon even if it was just for one day. I'll bet you've had dreams about Damon and woke up gasping for breath because they were just so intense, so real and so…enjoyable. Stefan is all about the soft and sweet but I'll bet that you've been craving something a little more…wild between your thighs.'

Elena shook her head and turned around to face Katherine.

'No I haven't. Damon is my friend and that is all he'll ever be because I love Stefan.'

Katherine smirked at Elena 'Well your body and that heart of yours seems to be telling me a whole different story. There's that and a rather….touching moment I shared with Damon this evening on your front porch. I never knew Damon had such a…soft side to him. I'm sure if you experienced what I did your mind would quickly be changing and choosing the other brother.'

Elena frowned at Katherine's words, wondering what she was talking about. Just as she was about to ask Katherine what she was going on about Katherine swiftly moved towards her, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back against her. Katherine gripped Elena around the throat and hissed low in her ear.

'You've stolen my men, they belong to me, you've turned one of them into some soft hearted, 'I want to save the world' idiot and that I don't appreciate.'

Elena whimpered as Katherine yanked her head back and hissed again when another movement came from the passage.

'Let her go,' came a familiar voice from the passage way.

'Ah Damon, the Knight in Shining armour comes charging in to save the damsel in distress….how sweet,' Katherine replied, her words dripping with cold, hard sarcasm.

Elena clawed at Katherine's hand to try and get it off, her eyes wide with fright as she looked over at Damon.

'Katherine let her go or I swear I'll…'

'You'll do what Damon, shred me to bits?' Katherine laughed that same musical, childish laugh and glared at Damon. 'I have over three hundred years on you Damon, don't forget that. You'll be dead before you can save her. Are you willing to risk that?'

Damon's eyes met Elena's and she shook her head slowly as the tears ran down her cheeks. His eyes seemed pained to see her this way.

'Yes,' he whispered.

Katherine glared at him. 'I'm sorry I didn't quite hear that,' she said through clenched teeth.

'I said yes,' he spat back at Katherine, turning his gaze to her, his eyes now filled with hate and anger. 'I'll die trying to save her because unlike the selfish, cold and heartless bitch that you are, _she's _worth saving and _she's _most definitely worth dying for.'

Elena felt her heart seem to jump into her throat at Damon's words. Katherine was in just as much shock as Elena was. She had obviously not expected this to happen. But she recovered quickly.

'Well then let's hope you are able to save her.'

Katherine's eyes turned black and Elena screamed out in pain as she felt Katherine's fangs pierce through the skin on her neck. She didn't drink from Elena; she simply ripped away the skin and dropped her to the floor. Laughing menacingly as she licked the blood from her lips. Elena fell to the floor and grabbed the wound on her neck.

'NO!' Damon growled out and moved towards Katherine.

Katherine moved gracefully out of the way as Elena crumpled on the floor and smirked. 'Tough choice Damon, you can either come after me, attempt to kill me or you have to try your best to save her.'

Damon glared at Katherine and then down at Elena, her blood running out over the kitchen floor. Katherine let out another childish laugh and disappeared out the back door. Damon knew he had no choice. He wouldn't let Elena die. He picked her up into his arms and pulled her hand away from the wound. She was losing too much blood; he could hear her heart slowing by the second. He bit into his wrist and held it to Elena's lips.

'Elena, please drink.'

Elena opened her eyes slightly and lifted her hands weakly to his arm. She held onto it as her lips found the wound and she began to drink down his blood, her face scrunching up in distaste as she drank it but she knew she had no choice. It was either this or death and she wasn't ready to die just yet.

Damon watched the wound heal and when it was gone completely he pulled his wrist away from her mouth. He quickly laid her down on the floor once more and began to swiftly move around the kitchen cleaning it up, removing John's body from the floor and into the woods behind the house. When he retuned he found Jenna on the floor next to Elena a look of horror and shock on her face. Damon had to act quickly. He lifted Jenna up and turned her around. She looked at Damon disapprovingly.

'You never saw any of this. Elena is fine. She called you earlier to tell you she would be staying at the boarding house tonight and there is no need to worry about her. You're tired after cleaning up the kitchen and need to go to bed.'

'I'm tired I need to go to bed,' Jenna replied in a sleepy tone and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Damon let out a sigh and then headed up to Elena's room to grab a few of the things she would bring over to the boarding house when she usually slept over. He packed them in a bag and grabbed her phone before walking back to her. He picked her up in his arms and she moaned quietly as her arms wrapped around his neck.

'Shhh, its ok Elena, you're going to be fine,' Damon whispered in her ear.

Damon headed for the door and then out into the night making his way quickly towards the house.

Elena's POV

Elena's dreams had become nightmares. She dreamed that she was running down a dark tunnel, a tunnel that never seemed to end and at every possible escape Katherine seemed to be there. Her eyes black and her fangs stained with blood. Each time Elena would turn and run from her that cold, childish laugh would ring out into the tunnel and send a shiver down Elena's spine.

Elena could feel her heart pounding away as she ran and ran the tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried desperately to escape and every time hope seemed to fill her up when a light was seen, Katherine was there to shatter that hope and chill every bone in her body with a menacing laugh. Eventually Elena could not run anymore and she collapsed to the ground. Suddenly there was a gush of wind and she felt the most excruciating pain in her neck as something pierced through the flesh and she let out a blood curdling scream as she tried to pry whatever it was off of her. Elena wanted to escape this nightmare because it kept repeating itself over and over again. Just as that pain coursed through her something would calm her down and she would be fine…but only for a while before she was consumed by the darkness once again and the nightmare would start all over again and it would seem even more frightening than before.

Damon kicked the door open and rushed past Stefan who jumped up and saw him carrying Elena in his arms.

'Damon, what the hell happened?'

'Not now Stefan!' Damon snapped at his brother as he rushed up the stairs and into his room, laying Elena down on the bed, hearing her whimper once again and he whispered soothing words into her ear to calm her down. Damon rushed into the bathroom and turned on the water, running a bath to try and clean her up as best he could. He hurried back into the room and began to unbutton her shirt. Stefan let out a growl and grabbed his brother's hand. Damon stood up and swiftly pushed his brother up against the wall.

'Stefan I am in no mood to have a fight right now so back off!'

'What the hell happened, Damon?'

'One word….Katherine,' Damon replied and released his brother before retuning to Elena's side and unbuttoning her shirt, slipping it off her arms.

Stefan stood against the wall stunned by the name and then he shook his head.

'Katherine is here?'

Damon rolled his eyes as he worked to remove Elena's jeans. 'Yes Stefan she's here. She practically ripped open our girlfriend's neck over here so if you don't mind I would like to get her into that bath and clean her up. We can discuss this later.'

Damon picked Elena up off the bed and walked over to the bathroom. Stefan swiftly stepped in Damon's way glaring at him.

'Firstly she is _my _girlfriend and secondly there is no way in hell I am letting you lay your hands all over her.'

Damon rolled his eyes again and glared at his brother. 'You want to wash her of her own blood then here you go Stefan,' Damon snapped and handed Elena to his brother.

Stefan's whole body tensed and his eyes became dark as he inhaled the scent of her blood. He began to shake slightly as his fangs lengthened in his mouth. Damon swiftly removed Elena from Stefan's arms before Stefan could lower his fangs to her neck.

'You see, you can't do it. That's the downfall of you not learning to control your hunger. That's what you get for fighting who you really are. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to clean her up seeing as her saintly boyfriend can't do it. WE will discuss this all after I've cleaned her up.'

Damon shoved past his brother and slammed the door shut. He gently put Elena into the bath tub and picked up a sponge he had grabbed from her bathroom. He moved her hair aside and gently wiped the blood from her neck, inspecting it as he did so to make sure the wound had healed completely. She whimpered slightly once more and her face seemed to furrow into a look of pain. Damon whispered soothing words to her and wondered what she must be dreaming to cause such a look of pain on her face, although he could easily imagine it being filled with images of Katherine. Damon washed down the rest of Elena's body and did his best to wash her hair to get rid of the blood that had managed to seep into it. He was gentle with her, treating her as if she were some frail china doll that would shatter at any moment. It was now that he could understand why Stefan treated her in much the same way because tonight he had seen just how easily she could be broken and it frightened him terribly when he thought of an existence without her in it.

After an hour of washing away all the blood, Damon took her out and dried her off as best he could. Now came the tricky part. He pulled out the Pyjamas he had scooped up off her bed and as swiftly as he could he removed her bra and underwear and did his best not to look because now was really not the time for that and, as much as he knew how that would piss Stefan off, he was really not in the mood to have to deal with that as well from his brother. He tossed her wet underwear one side once he had finished dressing her and then opened the bathroom door. Naturally Stefan was still in his room, pacing back and forth like the typical concerned boyfriend would. Damon sighed and shook his head before he carried Elena over to his bed. He pulled back the covers and placed her beneath them. He pulled the covers up to her shoulder and brushed her wet hair behind her ear. She shivered slightly and pulled the blankets further up over her and curled into a ball beneath them. Damon let out a sigh and then turned to face Stefan.

'Right, now we can talk about what happened.'

Stefan sat down in a chair and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly disappointed and perhaps a little jealous that his older brother was the only one who seemed to be able to help Elena. Damon sat down in a chair across from his brother and ran a hand over his face before leaning his head back in the chair.

'What were you doing at Elena's place?'

'Well I was talking to Jeremy about Anna,' Damon replied, a frown on his face.

'How do you know that Katherine was there?'

Damon sighed and leaned forward in the chair. He knew that his brother was going to snap at him but hell, he may as well tell him the truth now or else Katherine would just end up telling him when they came face to face with her.

'I came out of the house and I saw, who I thought was Elena, coming towards the porch. I helped her with her things and then we spoke, and I was thanking her for deciding that I had been worth saving because after all, if it hadn't been for Elena I'd be dead because we both know Bonnie despises me,' Damon replied with his usual smirk.

'Then what happened?'

'Do you want the sugar coated version or the truth?'

'Give me the truth Damon, for once in your life.'

Damon rolled his eyes. 'Alright, you asked for it then. Well I gave who I thought was Elena a kiss on the cheek which led to us kissing and being caught out by Jenna-'

'WHAT?" Stefan yelled and stood up, glaring down at Damon.

Damon stood up and glared back at his brother. 'Oh for heaven's sake Stefan calm down will you!' Damon grabbed his brother's arm and led him out of the room and into the hallway. 'It was Katherine so don't get all psycho vampire on me alright. Jenna opened the door, thought it was Elena and told her to get inside. I left and thought about that kiss because it was nothing like what I would have expected a kiss from Elena to be and then it hit me. It was Katherine and I hurried back to the house and found Katherine with Elena in a death grip.'

Stefan growled at Damon, his eyes burning with anger.

'How could you?'

'Oh come on Stefan it was Katherine. I haven't kissed your precious girlfriend.'

'Yeah but you thought you had!'

'You're really going to start an argument over this right now? After what has happened all you can think about is the kiss?' Damon shook his head in disbelief.

Stefan paced back and forth in the hall and tried to calm down.

'Alright what happened then?'

'Well there was an exchange of words between myself and Katherine and then she bit down into Elena's neck, ripped it open and then left because she knew I'd not let Elena die just to go after her. I knew I would never get Elena to the hospital in time so I gave her my blood to heal the wound.'

Stefan growled and leaped at his brother, smashing him into the wall. Damon growled and pushed his brother away, watching him smash into the wall across from him and crumple to the floor. Damon dusted off his jacket and straightened up before walking over to Stefan and picking him up from the floor, his eyes glaring at his brother.

'Be thankful…brother. If it weren't for me _your _girlfriend would be dead right now.'

Damon let go of his brother and walked back to his room.

'Where are you going?' Stefan choked out.

'I'm going to my room to sit and watch over Elena until she wakes up.'

Damon shook his head once at his brother and walked into his room, slamming the door shut.

Stefan knew he couldn't be in the room because Elena's clothes were stained with her blood…that and he didn't trust himself around her now, especially as he had almost lost control when Damon had put her into his arms. Stefan growled low in frustration and marched off to his room, slamming his own door shut and began to throw things around in it to take out his frustration. Damon sat down in a chair he had placed at the foot of the bed and sighed as he watched Elena sleep. He rested his chin on the top of his hand and thought about everything that had happened. Every time he thought about Katherine his blood would start to boil and a soft growl would escape him. He was going to see that little bitch suffer for what she had done to Elena. Damon now saw that Elena was so much better than Katherine and that Katherine would never measure up to her. He sat now and wondered what he had ever found so alluring about Katherine. She was always cold and cruel and her words of love she had used when in his company were never true because if she had truly loved him, she would have never used the exact same words with his brother. She played little games to keep herself entertained and when she had live puppets to play with it made the games even more enjoyable, especially when the puppets fought over her to try and gain a false love from her. At the end of the day there was no real love to gain from her. Damon let out a weary sigh and kicked off his shoes. He got more comfortable in the chair and put his feet up on the bed as he let his head fall back onto the chair. He closed his eyes and within minutes he found himself fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: **

Elena's eyes fluttered open slowly and she frowned slightly as she looked around the unfamiliar room. It was clear that the room belonged to a man because of the scent of cologne hanging in the air, a scent she inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as it filled her senses. She had smelt this before but she couldn't figure out where exactly. She sat up slowly in the bed, her head feeling stuffy and her body sore and exhausted. She knew she had been asleep, how could she not know after the nightmares she had had, but it felt like she hadn't slept for a week.

She looked around the room once more and her eyes stopped on the sleeping form at the foot of the bed; it was Damon. She knew now where she was, she knew now why the room looked so strange to her. It was Damon's room and a room she had never been in before. She returned her gaze to Damon's sleeping form and she watched him as he slept, taking in all his features that now seemed so peaceful and…beautiful. When he slept Elena could easily see what all the women found irresistible about him. His angular jaw line, his full lips that were soft and relaxed and not turned up into their usual smirk that he always gave everyone. His dark hair was messy as it always was but it just seemed to add to his irresistible good looks. Elena shook her head and felt her face flush red as she realized what she was doing, the way she was thinking of Damon which was a way friends did not think about each other. She chewed on her bottom lip and looked up at him again, only this time there was a small smirk on his face.

'You know, Elena, it's very rude to sit and stare at someone when they're asleep,' came his words in his deep sultry voice which made Elena blush even more.

Damon opened one eye and then the next and lifted his head up to look at her, the smirk wider on his face now as he stretched in the chair. The smirk disappeared from his face and his eyes were serious and full of concern. He moved from the chair and sat down next to Elena on the bed.

'How are you feeling?'

Elena looked up at him, his intense sapphire blue gaze sending an unwanted shiver down her spine. 'I'm…um fine. I just…I feel like I haven't slept for a week.' Elena replied running a hand through her hair.

'Bad dreams?'

'Well… bad dream really. Same one repeating itself over and over again and each time it just felt worse than the last.' She replied and then a shiver of fear shook her body as she recalled the nightmare.

Damon lifted one hand and brushed the hair away from her neck catching Elena off guard.

'It's alright…I just want to make sure that wound really is all healed up.'

Elena let out a sigh and relaxed, tilting her head a little to the side so Damon could inspect her neck. His fingers moved softly over her skin and she closed her eyes at his touch which seemed to make Damon smile slightly to himself as his eyes moved from her neck to her face.

'It's all healed. No scars.' He replied and let his hand fall to his side.

Elena's eyes opened and she looked at him. 'Thank you Damon…for saving my life.'

'I guess that makes us even then.' He replied trying to give her his usual smirk but instead a genuine smile crossed his lips.

'I guess we are,' Elena replied and looked down, noticing for the first time that she was in her pajamas.

'How…? When…?' she looked up at Damon with brows furrowed.

'I cleaned you up last night.'

'And…who dressed me?'

'I did.'

Elena was angry and embarrassed and felt a little violated by this. She let out a disgusted grunt and hit him on the arm before fumbling out of bed. As she stood up though her head began to spin and she began to lose her balance. Damon moved swiftly and grabbed her before she fell.

'Whoa easy there,' Damon whispered as he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her to him. Elena placed her hands on his chest and rested her forehead against it as she tried to stop the spinning feeling.

'Damon, how could you do that?' she asked finally looking up at him with a disapproving glare.

'Well one, I wasn't going to let you mess up my sheet with blood,' he said with his usual smirk as he sat her back down on the bed, 'and second, I figured that you would much rather wake up in a clean set of clothes and free of blood.'

Elena let out a sigh but she knew he was right. She wouldn't have wanted to wake up in dirty clothes and feeling sticky with her own blood.

'Don't worry I did my best not to look,' Damon said with a smirk.

Elena rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm again, her face growing hot at the thought of Damon seeing her with no clothes on. She shook her head to clear the thought.

'Where's Stefan?' she asked, the thought of him suddenly coming to mind.

'Upstairs brooding in a dark corner of his room I suppose,' Damon replied.

Elena stood up and walked to the door slowly, making sure she wouldn't get dizzy again. She reached the door and opened it but turned around to face Damon once more.

'We need to talk about what happened last night but I'm first going to check on Stefan.'

Damon saluted Elena and replied. 'Yes Miss Gilbert.'

Elena shook her head and smiled before walking out of the room and heading up the stairs towards Stefan's room.

Damon let out a long sigh and then lay back on his bed looking up at the ceiling, his once peaceful state of mind now reeling with thoughts of Elena, of Katherine and he didn't like it. He hadn't got the best night's sleep so he stood up again and stripped out of his constricting clothes, threw on a pair of black sweat pants and crawled beneath the covers. He needed a few more hours sleep and he was sure that the whole 'lovey-dovey' reunion between Stefan and Elena would take some time. The thought of Elena with Stefan made Damon growl low.

'Oh don't start that. She chose him, not you get over it.' Damon mumbled to himself.

He turned over on his side and stared at the wall. He noticed the faintest scent of Elena on the pillow and buried his face into it to inhale it deeply. She always did smell so good; her choice in whatever perfume she wore was divine and seemed to compliment her goodness that she had. Damon felt his eyes grow heavy and the more of her scent he inhaled the more relaxed he became. Eventually Damon was fast asleep, his arms firmly wrapped around the pillow as he breathed her in because he knew that this was probably as close to her he would ever be able to get.

Elena walked up the stairs and knocked on Stefan's door and waited. There was movement behind the door and then it opened slowly.

'Morning,' Elena said as she looked up at Stefan, a smile on her face at the site of him. Oh how she had missed him.

Stefan pulled her to him and wrapped her in his arms, hugging her tightly as he buried his face into her neck and placed soft kisses along her skin.

'I've…been….so….worried,' he whispered against her skin.

'I'm fine,' she whispered back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He looked down at her, brushing her hair away from her face.

'I'm so sorry that I couldn't be the one to…well…to do anything really last night but…I didn't want to hurt you.'

'It's alright Stefan. I understand,' Elena replied and reached up to place a soft kiss on his lips.

Stefan picked Elena up into his arms and carried her over to the bed, causing her to giggle slightly. His kisses became passionate and intense and for a moment Elena found herself getting lost in them. But then thoughts of Damon flashed into her mind and she pushed Stefan away, sitting up and sighing.

'What's wrong Elena?' Stefan asked, running a hand gently down her back.

Elena didn't know why thoughts of Damon came to mind, especially at this time, but she tried to tell herself it was simply because of what Damon had said last night and what Isobel had told her when she had been in town. She needed to clear this entire thing up with Damon. She needed to know exactly how he felt about her and….she needed to know how she felt about him because she was the one who had told him they were only going to be friends but….after what she had heard last night, something began to change inside her and she needed to try and sort all of these emotions out. Elena looked over her shoulder at Stefan with apologetic eyes.

'I'm sorry Stefan but I just…I have to sort some things out with your brother,' Elena said and got off the bed.

'What do you need to sort out with him that is so urgent?' Stefan asked with clear distaste in his tone.

'Just some things that were said last night and I need to know about them,' she replied feeling slightly irritated with Stefan.

Stefan mumbled something and this made Elena even more irritated.

'What was that?'

'You're going to ask him about the kiss aren't you?' Stefan said a little louder now, his eyes cold and glaring.

Elena stepped back slightly at the site of such coldness in his eyes. She had never seen him look at her in that way.

'I don't know what the hell you're talking about Stefan but it clearly must have something to do with me so now I'll add that to my list.'

Elena stormed over to the door, angry with Stefan for acting this way. She stormed off down the stairs and headed to Damon's room glad that Stefan was not following her.

Elena threw open the door to Damon's room.

'Damon we-'

She stopped and her eyes grew wide as she noticed Damon fast asleep in the bed, his chest bare, the pale skin enveloping well defined muscles from pecs to abs. Elena felt her heart racing as she took in his perfect form and bit down on her lower lip. She frowned and shook her head slightly to try and get her mind working again. She tip toed into the room and grabbed the bag and headed into the bathroom as quietly as she could. She needed another shower and decided to make it a quick one. She washed up, brushed her teeth and put on the clothes Damon had packed into her bag for her. She slipped on her shoes and then opened the door quietly again, looking over at Damon once more, noticing he was still fast asleep. She made her way towards the bedroom door and, before closing it she looked over at him one last time. She quickly walked down the stairs and towards the front door. She gasped and came to a sudden stop when she found Stefan blocking her path, his arms folded across his chest.

'So how did the talk go?'

Elena frowned and her irritation returned. 'We didn't talk because he's asleep so I had a shower, got dressed and now I am going to go home and check on Jenna and Jeremy so move.'

Elena stepped forward but Stefan did not budge.

'So then when are you planning on having this talk with him Elena?'

Elena let out a huff and rolled her eyes. 'When he's awake Stefan and when I've gotten a little more rest and then we'll talk.'

Stefan glared at Elena 'so you left me in the room to speak to my brother because it was just so 'very urgent' to discuss whatever it is you need to discuss with him. Then you find him asleep so now you're just going to leave and wait until later.'

'Yes Stefan that's the general idea. Will you stop acting like some jealous boyfriend! I need to clear the air between us and I will wait until later to do it.'

Elena shoved past Stefan and opened the door.

'I think you're in love with him Elena and you just want the time to make sure of that. Make sure that's what it is and then you're going to come on over here and break up with me. But I'll save you the trouble. We're done.'

Elena turned around, shocked at Stefan's words.

'Stefan I-'

'Save it. I don't want to hear it!'

Stefan shook his head and slammed the door shut in Elena's face.

Elena stood as still as a statue for what seemed to be forever and when she finally came to her senses she felt a lump in her throat and her eyes burn with tears. She wasn't in love with Damon…or was she? She shook her head and turned to walk away from the house. She chewed on her bottom lip as she walked away, replaying what had just happened. Stefan was reading into all of this too much; just like a jealous boyfriend would. He was putting words and thoughts into her mouth and head that she had not even thought of and spoken of and he just made the decision that that is exactly what was happening, took matters into his own hands and cut ties with her. Elena thought about this over and over again and the more she thought of it the angrier she became. It was such a typical guy thing to do. She forms a close friendship with his brother, he starts getting suspicious about it. The truth, or at least Isobel's idea of a truth, is revealed and now anything that happens between her and Damon is added to Stefan's suspicions until eventually he snaps and decides for the BOTH of them that its best they not date because clearly she is just falling head over heels in love with his brother.

Elena threw open the front door and marched upstairs muttering quietly as she walked up the stairs, threw down her bag in her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She flopped down onto the bed, grabbed the pillow and curled up into the ball as she let her mind go reeling away over everything that had happened. The tears began to fall and she cried silently for a while until eventually there were no more tears left to shed. She had cried herself to the point of exhaustion and through soft sobs of anger and pain she fell asleep on the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews so far on the chapters. I am trying to update this story as fast as I can but alas I tend to get very busy ****J**** I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the story so much. Seeing as Damon was heading along his whole 'Noble' route I figured we'd keep him on it as far as Elena is concerned. After all this is a Delena story ****J**** So here is the third chapter. I have a feeling this may be a rather short story but I'm still new at writing fan fiction stories. ****J**** So please keep the reviews coming and IF there are any ideas you have to add to it please feel free to send them my way. **

**Chapter Three: **

Damon heard every word that was said between Stefan and Elena as they argued downstairs. His brother was being a complete fool but this sudden anger over things that would usually not bother Stefan seemed a little odd to Damon.

Stefan came marching up the stairs and Damon opened his bedroom door just as he past it.

'Stefan, what the hell are you doing, Hm?' Damon asked, leaning against the door way and folding his arms.

'Not now Damon!' Stefan snapped at his brother and began walking away.

Damon watched him as he walked away and then a crazy idea came to mind.

'This is because of Katherine isn't it?'

Stefan faltered in his stride and then turned to face Damon.

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

Damon smirked. 'Oh you are such a bad liar.'

Damon walked over to Stefan with a shocked look on his face.

'Your attitude changed completely when I told you Katherine was back. I should have heard last night in your voice. It wasn't concern or worry over the fact that your girlfriend could possibly be in danger.' Damon shook his head. 'You were…excited. You wanted to know all about her return and you weren't angry because I thought I kissed Elena, although you did a pretty good job covering that up, you were pissed off because I kissed Katherine.'

Stefan growled and lunged for his brother, hitting him into the wall.

'That is not true!'

Damon glared at Stefan, let out a low growl and pushed his brother off of him, pinning him against the wall.

'Really, then if it's not true why the hell are you getting so upset?'

Stefan said nothing and just glared at Damon.

'Silence is an admission of guilt Stefan,' Damon hissed at him and then released him before walking back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Damon couldn't believe it. He had spent the last century and a half trying to get into the tomb to rescue Katherine because he truly loved her. Stefan had always acted as if he no longer cared about Katherine. But now as Damon looked back to when he had told Stefan he was going to bring her back, he should have seen that flicker of excitement in Stefan's eyes, seen the way he lied through his teeth about not really wanting him to get into that tomb. Damon smiled and shook his head amazed at how things had suddenly seemed to have taken a turn. Damon had been the one hell bent on saving Katherine and when he found out she was alive and apparently didn't care about him his love shattered and was replaced by hurt, anger and a hatred unlike anything he had felt in his entire existence. He told Stefan she was alive and when he did he should have noticed that small smile form on his brother's mouth. Should have seen it for what it really stood for; he was happy to hear she was alive. But Damon was too hurt to really pay much attention to it. And now here he was, pacing his room after the realization that Stefan hadn't broken up with Elena because he felt that Elena loved Damon, he had simply used that as a front. Stefan had broken up with Elena because now Katherine was back and he…Stefan Salvatore, the saintly brother, wanted to be with Katherine.

Damon ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. He needed to tell Elena about this because unlike his brother he never lied to Elena and he never kept things from her either so he wasn't about to start now. He looked over at the clock on the bed side table before heading into the bathroom to have a shower. He'd make a stop at the blood bank before going to see Elena; it would give him some time to think about how he was going to tell her all of this.

Elena woke up and looked over at the clock; it was now four in the afternoon. She had been asleep most of the day. She stretched out on her bed and sat up, running a hand through her hair before rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up properly. She suddenly remembered all that had happened and felt sick to her stomach for some reason, felt as though a hole had been punched through her chest.

A soft knock came at her door.

'Yeah, come in.' she said in a groggy voice.

The door opened and Jenna stuck her head into the room.

'Well hello sleepy head,' Jenna said with a smile on her face.

'Hey Jenna,' Elena replied.

'I was going to offer you something to eat earlier but when I came up here you were fast asleep.'

'Yeah….I um…I had trouble sleeping last night.'

'Do you want to talk about it?'

Elena shook her head. She did not want to have her aunt involved in all of this but something seemed to be nagging at her, telling her she should just tell her aunt about it all because somehow, sooner or later, Jenna was going to be dragged into this. But Elena didn't want to tell her all about that now. She had heard Damon compelling Jenna last night, removing her memories of what she had seen last night and for now, Elena just wanted Jenna to be completely oblivious to it all.

'Well I have something I want to talk to you about so come on down and have something to eat.'

Elena frowned at the look on her aunt's face, a look that told Elena she had obviously done something that Jenna didn't approve of. Elena nodded and got off the bed, following Jenna down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Jenna busied herself with making something to eat and Elena took a seat at the counter.

'So what do you want to talk about?'

'I want to talk about what I saw last night Elena.'

Elena's whole body tensed. Had Damon's compulsion not worked? That couldn't be possible. Damon's powers were stronger than Stefan's and she knew that.

'Okay,' Elena said warily, her heart racing and her stomach twisting itself into knots.

Jenna let out a sigh and placed a sandwich down for Elena to eat before taking a seat across from her. Jenna was serious, a frown on her face and her eyes filled with questions.

'I saw you last night, on the porch and I want to know what the hell you were thinking Elena?' Jenna stated, her eyes questioning.

Elena raised her brows in confusion.

'Saw…what exactly Jenna?'

'Oh come on Elena don't play dumb with me. You and Damon on the porch last night,' Jenna replied, irritation apparent in her voice.

Elena simply sat in silence a puzzled look on her face.

Jenna rolled her eyes.' Alright let me refresh your memory then. You and Damon were on the porch and when I opened the door the two of you were locked in a very intense kiss and it looked to me like you were enjoying it just as much as he was. So please, enlighten me as to why you were kissing him and what happened between you and Stefan to make you do something like that? I mean I know Damon is ridiculously good looking but I can sense that he's one of those bad boy types Elena.'

Elena's jaw dropped open slightly and Stefan's words from earlier suddenly seemed to make perfect sense. Jenna had seen Damon kiss Katherine on the porch and thought it was her…Damon had thought it was her too she was sure of it.

'Jenna-'

Jenna's phone began to ring and she let out a sigh.

'We'll carry on with this conversation later Elena. I have to go, its work calling.'

Jenna answered the call and grabbed her bag before walking out of the kitchen. When Elena heard the door close she raced upstairs to her room.

Elena closed the door to her room and grabbed her phone. She found Damon's number and sent him a message:

_**Damon we need to talk right now. Please come here as soon as you get this message. I have some serious things to discuss with you.**_

_**Elena. **_

Elena tossed her phone onto the bedside table and sat down on her bed, her mind in a complete state of chaos as it battled with different emotions. She needed to clear her mind and so she got out her diary and flipped through until she came to a clean page and began scribbling down all her thoughts:

_Dear Diary, _

_My life is….I am at a loss for words really on how to describe just how chaotic my life has become. So many things have happened and my mind is unable to completely wrap itself around all of it. I found out that the man I have been calling 'Uncle John' for my entire life is in actual fact my biological father. I've hated the man my whole life and then I find this out which only makes me hate him that much more until the point when I came home last night to find him dead on the floor, a knife buried in his chest and Katherine in my kitchen. _

_She had obviously killed him but I was so shocked to see her standing there. It was like looking into a mirror. She looks just like me. She almost killed me last night and had Damon not done what he had done I would be dead. _

_Damon. So many thoughts and feelings I have right now have him at the centre of them. Katherine had told me last night of a touching moment her and Damon had shared on the porch and now Jenna told me exactly what that moment had been. But what else had been experienced that night? What had been said to lead to that moment or had Damon simply walked up to, who he thought was me, grabbed her and just kissed her? I don't know how I feel about all of this but maybe, once I've spoken to Damon, I'll know then. _

_Damon and I…well we've grown closer over the past few months and he's been a great friend…in his own way. Somehow I seem to understand him better than most people do and because of our growing friendship I naturally began to care about him. But Katherine said things to me last night that have me wondering if I simply care for him as a friend or if it is more than that. How could it be more than a friendship? I would have surely noticed it turning into something more…unless of course I was too busy ignoring those feelings because I didn't want them to be true. _

Elena let out a sigh and read over her words so far. She could now see just how chaotic her mind was. Her words and thoughts usually flowed more smoothly, she was usually able to get her thoughts into a coherent chain of events, feelings, but now…now it was just a disheveled mess of thoughts scrawled across her page.

_I need to talk to him. Right now my stomach is in knots over all of this and my chest feels like a hole has been punched through it thanks to Stefan who simply decided that I was indeed in love with Damon without even giving me the chance I needed to talk to Damon about all of this. It was so…uneasy seeing Stefan glare at me with such cold eyes. I had never seen him look at me like that. I was thinking earlier that he was acting like a typical jealous boyfriend by doing what he has done…but I feel like there's something so much more to it. Stefan in the past would never get so worked up about things like this. Maybe it had all just been building up and he finally snapped. _

_I wish my thoughts would flow together more clearly and that my mind would stop moving from one emotion to the next but I needed to get most of what I was feeling down in writing. I feel the slightest bit better now…but not much. _

Elena closed her diary and put it back in its hiding place. There came a tapping at her window and she turned around to see Damon perched outside it a look of concern on his face. This was it. Now came the time to confront him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: **

Damon sat perched outside Elena's window, waiting for her to open up. She opened the window for him and pulled him inside.

'Well hello to you too Elena, do you want me in your company that badly?' Damon said as he stood one side waiting for her to close the window again, a smirk on his face.

Elena sighed and rolled her eyes when she faced him again. 'None of your little remarks right now, Damon. We are going to have a serious conversation here.'

She pushed Damon backwards and forced him to sit down on her bed.

'I like where this 'conversation' is going.'

'Damon, please, just be serious for a few minutes.' Elena snapped at him.

Damon frowned and nodded his head. 'Alright, spit it out whatever is bothering you this much.'

Elena paced in front of him trying to figure out where to start first. She stopped and looked down at him, her mouth opening to say something but then snapping shut once more. Her pacing was starting to annoy Damon and her silence was making him uneasy.

'Elena spit it out!'

She stopped in front of him and let out a sigh.

'Okay, it's about last night and…what happened on the…on the porch.'

'Oh….right that,' Damon replied running a hand over his neck as he looked away from her.

'Jenna told me that we apparently kissed but…I know it wasn't us because of what I came home to so I was able to put two and two together on that one.'

Damon looked up at her and frowned. 'So then what exactly do you want to know about last night?'

'What were you doing here in the first place?'

'I was….having a….sincere conversation with Jeremy. I told him about…Anna. They took her away last night and…I watched her get killed. I wanted to take it all away from him but I wanted him to make the decision.'

Elena looked down and then back at Damon. 'Anna's…dead?'

Damon simply nodded his head, recalling the pain he could see in Jeremy's eyes last night.

Elena shook her head to try and clear her thoughts of that. She really couldn't handle dealing with that right now too so she pushed it aside.

Elena sat down next to Damon on the bed and looked at him.

'Then what happened?'

'Well I left after my failed attempt at doing the right thing and I ran into, well who I thought was you.' Damon replied looking over at Elena.

Elena swallowed her heart racing.

'And…what happened then?'

'Well her and I spoke…had a little 'soul bearing' moment there. Basically I thanked her, which was meant to be you, for…'Damon sighed and looked away.

'For what Damon?'

'I wanted to thank you really for thinking that I was worth saving,' Damon replied looking at Elena again. 'I mean Bonnie didn't save me because _she _wanted to, she saved me because _you _decided somewhere along the way that I was worth saving and she knew you would be upset if she didn't. So…thank you Elena for…well thank you.'

Elena felt her heart seem to swell in her chest at his words.

'You're welcome.' It was all she could say.

'Wow, this has a little air of 'Deja-Vu' to it.' Damon replied, standing up and beginning to pace slowly.

'I'm guessing at this point the kiss happened that Jenna witnessed.'

'Yeah, well it started as a simple 'thank you' kiss on the cheek and then led to…well the kiss your aunt saw.'

Elena nodded her head, frowning slightly as she thought about all of this. She was upset because she wanted to be the one to hear his exact words. She knew Damon had a good side and he only ever seemed to show it around her. So to have seen that would have been…well it really would have been something. She's not certain if the simple kiss on the cheek would have turned into an intense kiss between the two of them because she didn't know what he had said to Katherine…that and her and Damon were simply friends but there was still the possibility that the situation, had it been her and Damon, would have still played out the way it had. She was angry now that Katherine had robbed her of that encounter, not because she wanted to experience the kiss, although her mind seemed to wondering what that would be like, but because Katherine had robbed her of being able to see the softer and good side she always knew Damon had buried deep down inside of him. She shook her head slightly to try and keep her mind focused on what she had been robbed of but her mind seemed to want to focus on being robbed of that kiss too.

Damon sighed and leaned against the wall, watching Elena as the silence filled the room. He didn't know if she had anymore questions about last night so he decided now would be the time to tell her about Stefan.

'Well seeing as we're sitting in silence I have something to tell you and you're not going to like it.'

Elena looked up at him and frowned.

'What is it?'

'I heard your argument with Stefan today before you left. I confronted him about it and…well I hate be the one to tell you this but…he didn't break up with you because he thinks you've…well you know…fallen for me. He did it so he could go and find Katherine.'

'What!' Elena exclaimed and stood up walking over to Damon, her eyes filled with anger, disbelief and hurt.

'It's true Elena. He got really pissed off when I pointed that out. I should have seen it ages ago but I didn't. I was focused on my own hurt at being deceived the way I had been by her. I'm sorry that I had to be the one to tell you this but we both know Stefan never would. I've never lied to you or kept secrets and I wasn't about to start now. You deserved to know the truth.'

Elena looked away, her eyes burning as the tears began to flow, her throat closing up as she began to breathe heavily, her heart racing and with each beat the pain seemed to intensify. She turned away from Damon and her legs began to give way beneath her. Damon moved swiftly and caught her before she fell and as she wrapped her arms around him she burst into sobs of heart ache.

Damon carried her over to the bed and laid her down. She would not let go of him and tightened her grip around his neck. Damon knew this was going to be a long night so he got a little more comfortable on the bed and held Elena close, his hand running along her back as he whispered to her that everything was going to be alright. He could feel her pain and anger flowing off of her and it was so intense he felt as though he were suffocating beneath it. Eventually Elena calmed down and her breathing became steady. Damon looked down to see her asleep with a frown on her face. He wasn't used to seeing her asleep with such a pained expression on her face. Every time he had been in her room watching her sleep she was peaceful, her features soft and smooth. Damon ran his fingers across her forehead and watched the frown disappear. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

'I'm so sorry for the pain you have suffered Elena,' he whispered into her ear.

She stirred slightly and he felt her body shiver as his breath brushed across her skin.

He smiled slightly at this and if it were under normal circumstances he probably would have done so much more but she was hurting and right now she needed her…friend there to comfort her. She didn't need the arrogant, cocky, eternal stud there trying his luck with her. Damon let out a soft sigh and looked up at the ceiling, absent mindedly running his hand along Elena's back as she slept.

He wished he didn't have to be the one to have told her that, wished his brother would grow a spine and tell her himself but he knew his brother too well already. Any situation he did not want to confront or admit to it being the truth he would hide behind lies. It was like that when he went off the tracks with the human blood not too long ago. He thought he was fine, he didn't need to tell Elena about being back on the human blood because 'he had it under control'. Damon shook his head as he thought about those words. That was like any other addict saying they were under control, that they weren't being controlled by their addiction. Damon knew now why he didn't have friends because being a friend was sometimes not so great. It wasn't great when you had to be the one to tell your friend that her boyfriend, who happened to be your brother, lied to her about why he broke up with her. It was even worse when you happened to be in love with your friend and you didn't want to do anything that would make her regret being your friend. Damon looked down at Elena's sleeping form and sighed. All he wanted to do right now was tell her to forget about his spineless brother, tell her he loved her more than Stefan ever would and kiss away her pain. But he couldn't do any of that…he wouldn't do any of that because she didn't need that complication thrown into the chaos that had become her life. This wasn't really the way he thought this conversation was going to go tonight. He thought she'd maybe ask more questions about Stefan and why he'd want to be with Katherine and why he would lie to her, but Elena didn't…but he was sure she would and he needed to be prepared for that too.

Damon was feeling rather comfortable lying on Elena's bed, holding her close, something he never thought he'd ever be doing. Fair enough he wasn't holding her in the way he had always imagined he'd be holding her, he'd imagined it being under happier circumstances and not an embrace to try and comfort her broken heart, but he'd take what he could get. Damon was about to fall asleep when he heard the front door open downstairs. He knew Jenna was home and she would not be pleased to see him lying there on the bed after what she saw last night. He placed a quick kiss on Elena's cheek as he heard Jenna coming up the stairs and then swiftly and quietly left the room through the window. Damon walked down the road to where he had parked his car. He leaned against the side of his car and let out a sigh as he ran his hands through his hair, looking along the street, watching the people walking by and picked up the sweet smell of Elena's perfume on his jacket. He closed his eyes as he inhaled it. He pulled out his phone and found her number. He decided it would be best to send her a message telling her why he left because he knew in her state that if she woke up now and found him gone she might have a bit of a break down.

_**Elena, **_

_**I had to leave because Jenna came home and I'm sure she would not have liked seeing me lying next to you on the bed. I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions when you wake up so meet me at The Grill when you wake up. **_

_**Damon.**_

Damon sent the message and looked at his watch; it was already six pm. He could spare an hour or so and he would use that time to confront Stefan at home. Maybe now that he was a little calmer they could have a civilized conversation. Damon got into the car and headed back to the boarding house.

Elena sat up and looked around her room, a frown on her face. She had been so sure Damon had been here. She grabbed her phone to check the time and noticed the message. She read it and let out a sigh before lying back down. It made sense, Jenna would have made a big scene if she walked into Elena's room to find Damon on her bed considering she had apparently witnessed them kissing.

Elena ran a hand through her hair and got up from the bed. She shuffled off to the bathroom, feeling as if she had just been hit by a truck and when she looked at her reflection in the mirror she made a face of complete and utter disgust. She looked just as terrible as she felt. She turned on the shower and then peeked into Jeremy's room. She frowned when she found it empty. She hoped he hadn't gone on another downward spiral like he did when their parents died. She sighed and closed the door to his bedroom before getting undressed and getting into the shower. She stood still beneath the spray of warm water, her eyes closed as she thought about…everything. She had been so sure the conversation would have played out differently, that she would be able to settle some emotions she was feeling, clear her mind of thoughts she didn't want to be thinking about, like the ones about the kiss Jenna had seen. But instead she just had a whole new pile set down on another plate and she felt like she was going to crack beneath the weight of them. She felt her chest tighten and her eyes began to burn as she thought about it all. She was not going to cry again. She had done enough crying for now. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and began to wash up.

After what seemed forever in the shower Elena was finally ready to get out. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and dried herself off. She grabbed another one for her hair and then walked into the bedroom to get some clothes. There came a knock at her door just as Elena finished slipping on her boots to got with her choice of dark jeans and a long sleeve red top.

'Come in,' she said as she continued to dry her hair off a little with the towel.

Jenna opened the door and leaned against the door frame.

'Where are you going to?'

Elena sighed and stood up from her bed and walked to the bathroom. 'I'm going to meet Damon at The Grill.'

Jenna rolled her eyes as she followed Elena.

'Elena he's not-'

'Jenna don't tell me he's not good for me or whatever it is you're about to say,' Elena said in a stern voice and then sighed. 'Look I know you're worried because of what you saw last night and…I'm going to talk to him about that tonight. It wasn't supposed to happen and he knows that I'm sure. But he is a good guy Jenna…it's just not something he shows often and he's a good friend to me and I don't want to lose him so please…just…don't be so quick to judge him like everyone else does.'

Jenna sighed and nodded. 'I've always trusted you to make the right decisions so I'll respect your decisions and your judgments about him. But can I ask one thing?'

Elena nodded.

'What drove you to kiss him in the first place? Was it something Stefan did?'

Elena felt a lump form in her throat at the mention of Stefan's name and she just shook her head.

'No it had nothing to do with Stefan…I guess I just got caught up in the moment,' Elena shrugged. 'Maybe there was always a part of me that wanted to know what it would be like to…kiss Damon.'

Jenna smiled slightly and then nodded. 'Alright, well look just don't stay out too late and if you happen to see your brother please tell him to come home.'

Elena frowned. 'You haven't seen Jeremy?'

Jenna shook her head. 'He left a note on his desk about going out for a while but I haven't seen him at all today.'

'If I see him I'll tell him.'

'Thanks,' Jenna replied with a smile before walking out of the room.

Elena didn't want to think about Jeremy right now but she placed the thought carefully in the back of her mind. She turned around and began to dry her hair.

Once she was ready she grabbed her jacket and her bag. She picked up her cell phone and sent a message to Damon telling him she was on her way to The Grill. She made her way downstairs and out the house, ready for whatever may come of tonight's discussion. She needed to get all of this off her chest because she was tired of feeling like she couldn't breathe.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews. ****J**** I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story so far. To let you in on a little secret….I'm writing this whole things chapter at a time and just writing as the ideas come to me ****J**** I honestly never thought this story would turn into something that would be enjoyed so much by the fan fiction readers so thank you. Here is the next chapter in the story. I hope you enjoy it and please do drop me reviews like you have been doing so far. **

**Chapter Five:**

Damon got out of his car and walked to the house, a frown set on his face and his stride one of someone on a serious mission. He walked inside and closed the door.

'Oh little brother, are you home?' he called out in a sort of sing song tone.

No response came and Damon smiled slightly to himself. He listened carefully and heard movement upstairs. He made his way up towards the noise and found Stefan in his room moving about, picking things up and tossing them into a bag. Damon leaned against the doorway, arms folded across his chest.

'You know it's very rude not to answer someone when they ask you something,' Damon said with his usual smirk.

Stefan stopped when he saw his brother, frowned and shook his head before continuing with his packing.

'Where exactly are you off to?'

'It's none of your business what I do with my life and the last I checked you didn't really care,' Stefan replied in a cold tone.

Damon pushed away from the doorway and walked into the room.

'You're off to go and find Katherine aren't you?'

Damon sat down on the chair, setting his feet up on Stefan's desk.

'Yes, Damon I'm going to find her and then I'm probably going to stay with her for a while.'

Stefan continued to pack his things not once looking at Damon.

Damon shook his head. 'Do you realize Stefan what you have just thrown away?'

Stefan stopped then and looked at Damon but did not answer.

Damon stood up and walked over to his brother. 'You have just thrown away the love of a woman who never used you once in any sort of little game, a woman who was warm, soft and caring, a woman who would fight for things even if she didn't have to because they weren't worth fighting for in someone else's eyes. In her eyes they were worth it. She loved you Stefan, truly and whole heartedly loved you and you just tossed it all aside…for what?'

Stefan glared at Damon now. 'I know Elena loved me…but that love became questioned the moment you two started forming a close friendship. There's that factor and the honest truth that I still had feelings for Katherine….still _have_ feelings for Katherine. I just kept them buried deep down and tried to move on with my life because I thought she was dead. But when I found out through you that she wasn't, all those emotions came flooding back to me. I still love Katherine and I'm going to find her and prove that to her. And I know she still loves me.'

Damon laughed at his brothers words.

'Stefan you're an idiot! Katherine doesn't understand the true meaning of the word 'love'. The concept evades her completely. She is nothing but a cold, heartless bitch that uses people to amuse and entertain her.'

Stefan growled and lunged at Damon throwing him across the room.

'Lies, all lies!' Stefan yelled at Damon as he walked towards him.

Damon was on his feet when he felt Stefan grab him and throw him up against the wall, pinning him there. Damon glared at his brother and then grabbed Stefan's hand twisting it away from his neck before throwing him across the room.

'How can you be so blind Stefan, you of all people? You were always the sensible one and now you're acting like a complete fool! If she truly knew how to love then she would have chosen only one of us to be with!'

Stefan stood up from the ground, glaring at his brother his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily.

'I'm not listening to this anymore Damon. I know she can love someone and that someone will be me,' he hissed at his brother before grabbing the bag on his bed. 'And let me tell you something else, _dear brother_, she would have loved only me from the beginning. But then you had to come along and ruin all of that. I blame that entirely on you just the same as you blamed it on me.'

Damon glared at his brother as he walked to the door. Stefan turned around then, a cold, almost evil-like smile on his lips.

'You get to keep Elena now Damon. She's all yours.'

And with that Stefan disappeared down the stairs. Damon heard the car start down in the garage and then it pulled out and headed down the drive and away into the distance. Damon let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair before walking downstairs and towards his room. This was really not like his brother at all. He clearly had very deep feelings for Katherine or else he wouldn't have acted the way he did. He really had fooled Damon into believing he didn't care about Katherine anymore. And then a thought occurred to him and it made him growl low and feel sick. If he suddenly started having all these feelings for Katherine come flooding back to him after Damon told him that she was alive…then that meant he had simply been using Elena as a replacement for Katherine. Fair enough before that he probably wasn't using her at all for that but now he had been.

'Wow, when did he become the asshole and me the hero here,' Damon muttered to himself as those thoughts fell into place.

Stefan was acting like a complete asshole. Granted he would never be as charming, cocky or as good looking as Damon but he was still acting the way Damon used to act and, on occasion still did. He felt like he had stepped into the Twilight Zone. Damon let out a sigh and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and read the message from Elena. He shook his head slightly and tossed his phone down on the bed before going to clean up before heading to The Grill.

Once he was cleaned up and had a fresh set of clothes on Damon headed out of the car and began the drive to The Grill. This was not going to be a pretty conversation tonight and he was prepared for what was to come…well as prepared as he was ever going to be.

Elena parked the car and got out. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before walking into The Grill. She looked around the busy restaurant and spotted Damon sitting at a table in the back. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as his intense sapphire blue eyes met hers. She let out a sigh and then walked over to him, not looking forward to this conversation but she knew it had to be done.

She walked over to the table and took off her jacket before sitting down.

'Hey, Damon,' she said trying her best to smile.

'Hello Elena,' he replied his usual smirk on his face.

The waitress came over to them and set down the menus. Elena looked through the menu, not really paying attention to it, not really feeling hungry at all. When the waitress returned she simply ordered a burger and fries and so did Damon. When the waitress left Damon turned his attention back to Elena.

'You look terrible Elena.'

Elena rolled her eyes. 'Gee thanks Damon, that's just what I needed to hear.'

'Sorry, I'm just…not used to seeing you look so…exhausted and as if you have the world on your shoulders.'

'Yeah well it feels like I do.'

The waitress brought through the order and drinks. Once she was gone Elena looked over to Damon.

'Alright, let's talk about all of this.'

Damon nodded. 'What do you want to know?'

'Have you spoken to…Stefan since your last argument?' she asked, swallowing a lump that was forming once more in her throat.

'Yeah I saw him before I came here actually.' Damon replied, picking up a French fry from his plate and eating it.

'And, what did he have to say?'

'Well another argument erupted between us but in a nutshell…he's still in love with her and has now gone off in search of her and once he finds her he is going to tell her how much he loves her and then I suppose they'll live happily ever after,' Damon replied, a smirk on his as he said the last few words.

Elena looked down at her plate, tears threatening to escape her once again at his words. A part of her wanted to know his exact words that he had used but the other part of her had been hurt far too much already by all of this and she knew that hearing exactly what Stefan had said would just cause more pain than she could handle. Elena drew in a staggered breath and fought back the tears.

'I'm sorry Elena.'

Elena gasped as she felt Damon's breath on her skin and his words whispered into her ear. He had seen she had been upset and had moved over to her side of the table without her even noticing. She looked up into his eyes and she could see that he hated seeing her like this. He had that same pained look in his eyes that he had had when Katherine had a hold of her in the kitchen the other night. Damon hated seeing Elena in any form of pain, physical and emotional. She could see that clearly.

'It's not your fault Damon,' she whispered, her eyes not leaving his. 'You're not the one who has shattered my heart.'

Damon frowned at her words and brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.

'No I didn't but I can sense just how much this has hurt you and…it's almost suffocating to me. And it sucks for me because I had to be the 'good' friend who doesn't lie to you and keep things from you and tell you all of it. To be honest I think I now understand what it's like to be a doctor telling a family that a loved one has died. It must feel exactly like this,' he replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

Elena smiled slightly. 'But at least the doctor knows he did everything he could to try and save that family's loved one Damon. You've done everything you can but,' she sighed and shook her head looking down, 'it wasn't any use because he was set on his decision already. So the best you could do was tell me the truth and, even though it hurts, I'm thankful that you did. Time heals all wounds. I'll be fine.'

Elena looked back at Damon then and he could see her trying to hide her pain behind a fake smile, just like she had done with the pain of losing her parents.

'Don't give me that fake smile Miss Gilbert,' Damon said with a slight smile, 'I know it too well.'

'What would you have me do then Damon?'

Damon moved back to his seat and took her hand in his across the table.

'Tonight we take a break, just like in Georgia,' he said with a smirk on his face.

'Oh no I told Jenna I'd be home-'

'I will not take 'no' for an answer Elena. We've talked enough about this. You've suffered enough for one night. Now it's time to just take a break, let loose and let the salt settle into the wounds. You can deal with these problems tomorrow. They'll still be there and you know that.'

Elena sighed and nodded her head slowly. Damon was right and she didn't want to feel like this just for one night. She was about to agree when something else came to mind.

'Damon, there are things I need to talk to you about….things that were said that night in the kitchen…did you mean what you said?'

'Elena…no talking about any worries you have.'

'But-'

'No talking about any of it. No Katherine, no Stefan, no broken hearts, shattered emotions…nothing. Tomorrow is another day.'

'Fine, tomorrow then.'

Damon's lips curled up into their familiar smirk and he called the waitress over and ordered beers for them. The waitress was about to obviously ask for Elena's ID but Damon compelled her into believing Elena was old enough.

'You do know you wouldn't have to do that if we weren't here at The Grill, right?' Elena whispered to Damon across the table as she picked at the French fries on her plate, eating a few.

'I know,' Damon whispered back. 'But then I wouldn't have as much fun as I'm having now.'

'I thought this was my evening?' Elena asked with one of her first genuine smiles on her face.

'It is but I need to have a little fun too.'

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head.

The waitress brought over the beers and then disappeared again. Damon held up his beer.

'To one night of….not talking,' Damon said, looking at Elena.

'To…not talking,' Elena replied and clinked her bottle to Damon's before taking a long sip.

The night carried on with a constant flow of beers and after the beers came the stronger liquor. She started off with stealing Damon's glasses of bourbon until eventually he simply started ordering it for the both of them. Elena went from tipsy to drunk in under an hour and in that space of time she went from giggling like a giddy school girl to breaking down into sobs. The fun stopped then and Damon picked her up in his arms and carried her out to his car. He put her in the seat of his car and rummaged through her bag to find her phone. He scrolled through her numbers until he found Jenna's.

_**Hi Jenna, **_

_**I decided to spend the night at Bonnie's place. I'll be home tomorrow. **_

_**Elena.**_

After he sent the message Damon started the car and drove off back towards the boarding house. Tomorrow morning he'd fetch Elena's car and bring it back to the boarding house.

During the drive home Elena looked over to Damon, her eyes unfocused in her drunken state.

'What's wrong with me Damon?' she asked, her words slurred.

'You're drunk Elena,' he replied with a smirk, knowing full well what she meant by that question.

Elena hit his arm as best she could.

'I know that. I mean what's wrong with me…as a…person? What…didn't I have…that… that she does?' She asked with a frown on her face.

Damon glanced over to her and sighed. He pulled into the drive and stopped the car, turning to face her.

'Well there's a lot wrong with you Elena,' Damon said with a smirk. 'You're a little goody two-shoes, you can be annoyingly persistent when you want to be, you don't know when to drop things and you're stubborn.'

Elena sighed and looked down.

Damon lifted her face again, holding her unfocused gaze. 'BUT….those aren't bad things, Elena. They're what make you so…special. And as for what she has that you don't…well I don't really see what he finds so appealing in her, other than perhaps her coldness and uncaring ways. She can't be compared to you because you're so much better than she is Elena.'

Damon brushed a hand across her cheek and Elena let out a soft sigh as her eyes closed.

'Thank you, Damon.' She whispered.

Damon smiled slightly. 'Come on, let's get you to bed.'

Damon got out of the car and moved to her side of the car in a matter of seconds. He opened the door and pulled her out, picking her up into his arms before shutting the door with his foot. He walked inside and went upstairs, opening the door to one of the guest rooms.

He sat her down on the bed and took off her shoes. He set them one side and then laid her down on the bed. He stood up and pulled the covers over her and turned to leave. He felt a hand on his arm.

'Damon, please…don't go.' She whispered to him, her words still a slur.

He couldn't deny her anything…he knew that already. He had proved that over and over again. Damon kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed next to Elena. She curled up next to him, burying her face in his chest. He draped his arm over her side and held her close, running one hand gently, soothingly, through her hair. After a few minutes of quiet sobs she was asleep. Damon kissed the top of her head.

'You'll be alright Elena, you'll get through this,' he whispered to her, hoping it was true.

He lay there next to her and wondered that if Stefan could see the state Elena was in right now, if he could see the damage he had caused, would he feel bad about it? Would he realize then what he had thrown aside? Would he realize then that he had made a mistake? The answer to all of these questions resounded with a hard and definite NO. Somehow Damon just knew that Stefan would not be bothered now about Elena or the damage he had caused because, after all, she had simply become Katherine's substitute until now. Damon growled low at that thought and Elena stirred next to him. A soft whimper escaped her and he saw a few glistening tears roll down her cheeks.

Damon frowned and leaned down, kissing them away. A soft sigh escaped Elena and the she leaned up and kissed him softly below his bottom jaw. Damon tensed slightly as he felt her soft lips on his skin, his mind trying to will his body to respond to that kiss. But he wouldn't. One, because she was drunk and he would never do that to Elena. The second reason was because she probably thought she was in bed with Stefan, as much as that hurt to think about it was the truth.

'I love you Stefan. Please…don't leave me,' she mumbled in her sleep.

Damon's jaw clenched at her words, his blood boiling. He couldn't be angry at her, she didn't do anything wrong but how he wished it was his name in that mumbled sentence and not his brother's. Elena snuggled closer to Damon, her breathing steady and even. Damon needed some time on his own. He kissed the top of Elena's head and then slowly and quietly slid out of the bed. He picked up his shoes and headed back to his room. He closed the door and set his shoes down before taking off his shirt and pants, tossing them one side. He crawled into bed, pulling the covers over him. He let out a sigh and frowned slightly. Tomorrow he would sit down with Elena and talk about anything and everything she wanted to talk about. For a few hours she had been her normal, happy self but he knew she wouldn't be able to really be herself again until everything was sorted out. Damon was about to fall asleep when there was a knock at the door downstairs.

Damon grumbled to himself and got out of bed, pulling on a pair of pants before marching down to the front door. Damon pulled the door open, now highly irritated with whoever had decided this was a good time in the night to come knocking at a vampire's door.

'What!' he snapped.

'Damon, please I need somewhere to stay. I…I can't go home.'

Damon stared at Jeremy standing on his doorstep, clothes ripped and bloodied, his lips stained with blood, his eyes dark, still filled with pain and pleading.

'Sure just…don't make too much noise. Elena's here too.'

Jeremy hesitated for a moment and then walked inside. Damon closed the door and led Jeremy into the parlor.

'Jeremy, what did you do?'

Jeremy turned to look at Damon a frown on his face.

'I…I don't know why…'

'Sit down.'

Damon pointed to a chair and Jeremy sat down letting out a sigh. Damon poured two drinks and handed one to Jeremy. He sat down across from Jeremy and sipped on the Bourbon.

'Right, tell me everything.'

**A/N: Hope you like this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. ****J**


	6. Chapter 6

'_Jeremy, what did you do?' _

_Jeremy turned to look at Damon a frown on his face. _

'_I…I don't know why…'_

'_Sit down.' _

_Damon pointed to a chair and Jeremy sat down letting out a sigh. Damon poured two drinks and handed one to Jeremy. He sat down across from Jeremy and sipped on the Bourbon. _

'_Right, tell me everything.' _

**Chapter Six:**

Jeremy ran a hand through his hair and looked around the room.

'Damon…I…I'm…like you now.'

'Yes well I gathered that much already Jeremy,' Damon replied, his eyes widening a little as a smirk appeared on his lips. 'I want to know how you became a vampire and why?'

Jeremy sipped the drink and looked down into the glass, swirling the alcohol around for a few moments before he set the glass down on the table.

'Anna gave me some of her blood in a vial. I…I wanted her to turn me but,' he sighed and shook his head. 'But I started having doubts, I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do this. I kept her blood just in case I decided I wanted to do this. She told me how.'

'So what, you decided to do it and now you're having regrets? Well I'm sorry Jeremy but this isn't something you can just…undo. You're a non-living…living person now. Deal with it,' Damon replied a frown on his face as he stood up to pour himself another drink.

'Do you always have to be such an asshole?' Jeremy hissed at Damon.

'Yeah, it comes part and package with my arrogance, good looks and charm.'

Jeremy stood up and walked over to Damon.

'Look, I didn't come here trying to find a way to undo this. I know that it can't be changed. I…I came here wanting you to help me turn it off.'

Damon frowned as he looked at Jeremy. 'Turn…what off exactly?' he asked taking a sip of the drink.

'Turn off all the pain. I don't want to feel any of it. Anna told me vampires can do that. You did it. Tell me how I can do that too.'

Damon let out a sigh as he looked Jeremy over.

'It takes a while for it to go away completely. The quickest way though to do that is to just…act on vampire instinct. Vampires don't feel anything. We're meant to be cold, ruthless hunters. That's what we are. We don't feel anything for our prey at all,' Damon replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly. 'The quicker you learn that, the easier it will be to switch it all off.'

Jeremy frowned slightly as he took in everything that Damon was telling him, nodding his head slowly.

'I…I can't be around my family. Not right now at least. Could I ask you to do something for me?'

'Do I look like someone who just hands out favors?'

Jeremy shook his head. 'Well don't it for me then. Do it for Elena.'

Damon frowned and rolled his eyes. Was he that transparent? Could everyone see just how he felt about Elena?

'Fine, what do you want?'

'Could you please just tell Elena what's happened and…just do that mind control thing with my aunt. Tell her….I don't care what you tell her really but just as long as she knows I'm safe that's all that matters. Tell Elena I'm sorry for…being such an idiot towards her and that I'll see her soon.'

Damon frowned and nodded his head. Jeremy smiled slightly and then turned to head for the door. 'Jeremy, wait.'

Jeremy turned around and looked at Damon. 'Yeah?'

Damon walked over to a cupboard and took out a small box. He opened it up and took out a ring like his own.

'Here, take this and put it on. It'll help you to walk around during the day. And, why don't you get cleaned up here. I'll go and get some clothes from your house for you.'

'Why are you being so nice to me?' Jeremy asked, looking down at the ring as he slipped it on then back at Damon.

Damon looked around for a moment, sighed and shrugged his shoulders slightly. 'Because Anna would have wanted me to and…I'm sure your sister would be happy and more at ease knowing that I at least helped you where I could.'

'Thank you.'

'Yeah well don't get used to it. I don't offer out favors and a helping hand every day and for every Tom, Dick and Harry around town so...just consider yourself lucky.'

Jeremy smiled slightly.

'Where can I wash up then?'

'Upstairs in my room, first door on your right, just don't touch anything in there if you value your new found undead life,' Damon replied.

Jeremy nodded and headed off up the stairs.

Damon let out an exhausted sigh and shook his head.

'If I knew I was going to become like a damn priest in a church where everyone comes to confess their sins I would have never stayed in this damn town,' Damon muttered to himself as he picked up a shirt he had left downstairs a few nights ago. He threw it on and went upstairs to grab his shoes. Once they were on he left to go and get a few clothes from Jeremy's room. As he packed a few things into the bag Damon heard Jenna shuffling out of her room, obviously getting up to go to the bathroom or get something to drink.

'Oh well, I'm here now,' he mumbled to himself.

Damon stepped out of Jeremy's room and stood in Jenna's way. She bumped into him in her still groggy state and looked up at him with a frown on her face. Damon looked down at her, holding her gaze as best he could.

'Wha-'

'You have been worried about Jeremy but there is no need to be. Jeremy is fine. He called tonight to tell you that he needed some time alone and has decided to do a little traveling. He will check in with you when he can but you do not have to worry about him because you know he can look after himself. '

'I won't worry about him,' she replied in a dazed, dreamy voice.

Damon frowned slightly and then let go. He moved into the room, grabbed the bag and was on his way back to the boarding house in a matter of seconds. That was one thing down. Now he had to wait for Elena to wake up in the morning and deal with having to tell her about her brother too. Damon shook his head as he thought about this.

'It was so much better when I didn't care,' he muttered into the cold, silent darkness of the night.

When Damon returned Jeremy had cleaned up and Damon handed him the bag for him to get some clothes out. Once Jeremy was dressed he came out of the bathroom and looked around the room. Damon sat down at his desk and watched Jeremy.

'Right, a few things to remember is to act normal, keep a low profile and when people start to notice you're not getting any older well then that's a good time to leave town. You don't have to always hunt humans, you could always choose to adopt Stefan's diet of bunny rabbits and squirrels but then your powers won't be as strong.'

'How do I not draw attention to myself when hunting though?'

'Compulsion, the mind control thing, that's what it's called. You can compel your prey to follow you somewhere secluded; you can drink from them and then just wipe their memories away. Make them forget it all happened. Or if you'd prefer to kill you prey and don't want the burden and guilt of knowing you killed someone with a family then find out all of that before you decide to pick them as your meal.'

Jeremy sat down on the edge of the bed, letting it all sink in.

'You said I don't have to hunt humans all the time?'

'No you don't. Go to a blood bank ever so now and then, compel the staff, take what you want and then get out.'

Jeremy stood up and walked over to the desk. 'Do you have paper and a pen? I'd like to leave my sister a letter.'

Damon nodded and opened up a drawer. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

'I'll be downstairs.'

Damon headed out of the room and down the stairs. He poured himself another drink and stood by the fire place, watching the last few flames of the fire dance around. He looked at the clock on the mantle; it was already one am in the morning. Damon knew he didn't really need much sleep, being a vampire and all, but after the last day or two he felt like he could sleep for a week. He finished off his drink and turned just as Jeremy came down the stairs with his bag.

'I left the letter on the desk for Elena; please give it to her to read.'

Damon nodded his head but said nothing.

Jeremy held out his hand and Damon took it, shaking it firmly.

'Thanks Damon, for helping me and…thank you for…whatever it is you're doing for Elena. As always my sister's judgments and thoughts on someone were right…you're not a complete asshole.'

Damon smiled slightly and shook his head. Jeremy turned and headed for the door.

'Jeremy…I'm really sorry about what happened to Anna and…I just wanted you to know that if I could have saved her I would have. I could see she just wanted to live a normal life here in Mystic Falls. I wish they had never found her. '

'Thanks,' Jeremy replied and then disappeared out the door into the early hours of the morning.

Damon walked up the stairs and to his bedroom. He kicked off his shoes, took off his shirt and pants and collapsed onto the bed. He needed a few hours sleep before the next lot of confessions started. He pulled the covers up over him, got a little more comfortable and within minutes he was fast asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_Damon walked up the stairs and to his bedroom. He kicked off his shoes, took off his shirt and pants and collapsed onto the bed. He needed a few hours sleep before the next lot of confessions started. He pulled the covers up over him, got a little more comfortable and within minutes he was fast asleep. _

**Chapter Seven: **

Elena woke to the feel of the warm rays shining through the window and caressing the skin of her arm. She opened her eyes slightly and winced as the glare of the sun was too intense. She sat up in the bed and then immediately lay back down. Her head was pounding and the entire room seemed to be spinning. She threw her arm over her face to block out the sun and waited for everything to stop spinning.

After a few minutes Elena crawled out of bed, grabbed her bag and shuffled off to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth to get rid of the horrid after taste of alcohol before turning on the shower. She washed up quickly and felt a lot better once she was cleaned up and in a fresh set of clothes. When she came out of the bathroom she set the bag down on the floor and looked around it. She knew she was in the boarding house; she wasn't that drunk that she did not remember where she had passed out the night before but the room was strange to her. It was clearly one of the guest rooms and it was one she found to be quite beautiful. Elena's pounding head was becoming too much to bear so she opened the door and headed down the hall to Damon's room. She opened the door quietly and found him stretched out on the bed in a deep sleep. She walked quietly into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. She watched Damon as he slept taking in every detail of him once more and every time she seemed to take them in the more gorgeous they seemed to be to her. Her eyes moved from his tussled, dark hair, down to his soft lips that were slightly parted, across his angular jaw line, down the length of his neck and stopping at his bare chest, watching it as it rose and fell with every steady breath he took. Elena shook her head and looked away from him. This was not the time to be thinking about him like this because there was still so much to be spoken about and today Elena felt like she would be able to do that without bursting into tears or having a complete break down.

'Good morning Elena.'

Elena looked back towards Damon. He was sitting up now, his eyes wandering over her obviously trying to assess if she was about to break down or not.

'Good morning. Um, do you happen to have anything for a headache?'

Damon gave her his usual smirk. 'You're lucky I do.'

He threw the covers aside and got out of bed, pulling on a pair of pants before walking over to the desk. He opened up a drawer and pulled out a bottle of aspirins. He walked back to Elena and handed her two before going into the bathroom to get her a glass of water. He came back, handed her the glass and sat down next to her.

'Thanks,' Elena said before swallowing the tablets with a sip of water.

'No problem,' Damon replied and took the glass from her, setting it on the bed side table.

Elena let out a sigh and glanced at Damon for a moment before looking down at her hands.

'Right…time to really sit down and talk about all of this,' Elena mumbled.

Damon looked over to the clock on the bed side table. 'Do we have to talk about this right now?'

Elena looked up at him. 'The sooner the better Damon, I just want to get this all out of the way.'

Damon nodded and then stood up walking over to the desk. He picked up the letter addressed to Elena.

'Well before we get into all that drama…this is for you.'

Damon walked over to Elena and handed the letter to her.

Elena looked down at it, frowning slightly.

'It's from Jeremy. He was here last night.'

Elena looked up at him with shocked eyes and then back down at the letter.

'Why did he come here?'

Damon frowned. 'I think maybe you should read the letter. He'll probably explain it all in there.'

Damon walked back over to the desk and leaned against it, his arms folded across his chest as he watched Elena.

Elena opened the folded letter carefully and then began to read the words her brother had written:

_Elena, _

_I really don't know where to begin so I'll just start off with…Sorry. I'm sorry that I have been such a cold, angry asshole towards you lately. I know that what you did, or at least asked Damon to do was all out of love for me. I know you wanted to just protect me and not drag me into this entire thing but, well it looks like I got dragged in either way. _

_A part of me has been so angry at you for what you did but I wanted to thank you for doing what you did because I would never have wanted to remember Vikki as someone who wanted to hurt me. So thank you. _

_Now to tell you the big truth…I have become a vampire. I wanted Anna to turn me, at first because I wanted to be with Vikki because I thought she was still alive and that that was what had happened to her. But the more I got to know Anna, the more I cared about her and then I wanted her to turn me so that I could be with her. She came to see me on Founder's Day, before the parade. She gave me a vial with her blood in it and told me what I had to do to become like her. I was skeptical about it. I didn't know if I wanted that to happen anymore and it obviously hurt her feelings. She wanted to turn me because she loved me and because she needed me to be with her seeing as our dear Uncle John was 'kind' enough to take her mother's life. She was all alone. They took her away from me and, if you don't know by now, they killed her. Damon saw Uncle John kill her. He told me he wanted to help her but he couldn't. He came to speak to me that night, after the Founder's Day celebrations and he told me. _

_After he left I made up my mind that I wanted to turn. I was angry and hurt and the only thing that had made me feel the slightest bit alive had been ripped away from me. I wanted to turn because I know that being a vampire means I don't have to feel like this anymore. I don't have to feel like there is a hole in my chest where my heart used to be. I don't have to feel anger, or hate or anything like that and for now that is what I want. I've asked Damon to compel Jenna into thinking I've just left town, which I'm sure he's done and I wanted you to know that he helped me. He gave me all the advice I needed, gave me a ring to wear so I could walk around during the day and even got me clothes and allowed me to clean up here. _

_He's a good guy behind his arrogant asshole front that he puts up. I couldn't see it before but tonight I did. He really does care about you Elena. I can see he does, or else he probably wouldn't have done what I asked him to do. I asked him to do it for you because I knew you would want it like that, I know you wouldn't want Jenna pulled into all of this just yet but you know one day it's going to happen. _

_I'm not good at writing down my feelings and thoughts too much but I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You have been a wonderful sister and I hope that when I am ready to come back to Mystic Falls that we can just have things go back to the way they were between us. I was being stubborn and I didn't want to work things out between us so…please accept this letter as an apology for not doing that. _

_I love you Elena. Take care of yourself and Jenna. And I know Damon will look out for the both of you. _

_Love,_

_Jer_

_Xoxoxo_

Elena folded the letter back over and stared down at the floor. Her vision became blurred as her eyes filled with tears. She was happy and sad all at once. Happy because she knew her brother was alright and that he had forgiven her and she was sad because she hadn't gotten the chance to hug him and tell him she loved him before he left and she didn't know when he would come back to Mystic Falls.

'Elena?'

Damon knelt down in front of her and looked up into her eyes. Elena looked at him as the tears began to fall and she pulled Damon up to her. She placed a soft kiss on his cheek and hugged him tightly.

'Thank you so much Damon for helping him,' she whispered through soft sobs.

Damon closed his eyes as he held her tightly against him. 'You're welcome,' he whispered against her neck.

For a few minutes all she did was hold Damon close as she cried softly. Damon ran his fingers up and down her back soothingly, his eyes closing as he inhaled her sweet scent. Eventually she pulled away, much to his dismay, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

'Alright, now that's enough crying,' she said with a small smile on her face. 'I'm tired of crying.'

Damon brushed Elena's hair away from her face, brushing it back over her neck.

'Come on, let's go downstairs and make you something to eat. We can talk about everything else there.'

Elena nodded and smiled.

Damon stood up and held out his hand to Elena. Elena looked to his hand and then up to him.

Damon rolled his eyes. 'My hand's not going to bite you Elena or give you some disease you know.'

Elena chuckled softly and shook her head before sliding her hand into his, their fingers locking together. He pulled her up off the bed and walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Damon loved the feel of her soft warm hand locked with his in such an intimate embrace, even though he was sure she did not see it as anything more than a simple friendly gesture on his part.

Elena looked down at their hands locked together and to her, even though it felt strange to be holding his hand like this, it also felt good and right. It made her feel relaxed, calm and at peace. She frowned slightly as she seemed to feel a surge of electricity course through her as her mind comprehended that she was holding Damon Salvatore's hand. Her heart was racing and her face grew hot. She tried to compose herself. She would not feel that way about him because they were just friends and she would not fall for Stefan's brother. And besides IF she ever did she wouldn't fall for him right in the middle of this mess with Stefan running off. She still had so many emotions and thoughts to sort through about this whole thing. She let out a low sigh and set her mind to focus on getting all of this sorted out once and for all.

Damon moved around the kitchen whipping up some food for Elena to eat and once he was done he placed a plate of eggs, bacon sausages and some toast down in front of her to eat.

'Bon Apatite,' Damon said with his usual smirk as he poured her a glass of juice and sat down next to her, a glass filled with blood perched on the counter before him.

'Thanks,' Elena replied and began to eat the food.

'This is really good Damon. I'm still amazed that you know how to cook so well.'

Damon sipped the blood and rolled his eyes. 'Well I had to do something to pass the time considering I was going to be living for an eternity.'

Elena laughed slightly and shook her head at his comment.

Damon sat and watched her as she ate. It was his turn to take in her features once more. Before it used to always shock him how much she looked like Katherine and there were often times when he almost called her Katherine and there were many times when he thought she was Katherine and he wanted to just pull her close and smother her in kisses. Now as he looked at her he didn't see her as Katherine's doppelganger at all. Now he saw her as Elena Gilbert a kind, warm, caring girl who cared about her friends and family, a girl who helped him get into a tomb full of vampires to try and rescue a woman he loved because in some weird way she understood why he was doing it. She was a girl who came back into the tomb for him, she pleaded for him to get out and when they were out she hugged him close and he could feel that she was concerned about him, he could feel that she was truly sorry. She fought for his life when he didn't deserve it. She truly was something totally and completely different from Katherine. She truly cared about Damon and his feelings. She worried about him and showed concern for him.

'Damon, are you okay?'

Damon's eyes focused on Elena's and he could see a look of concern in them.

'Sorry….spaced out there a little I guess,' he replied sipping the blood again.

'Well I'm finished with the food, thank you, it was delicious.'

Damon stood up and took the plate to the sink to wash up. 'It's my pleasure.'

'Can we go sit down in the parlor and talk about everything else now?'

Damon turned off the water, dried off his hands and grabbed the glass from the counter.

'After you Miss Gilbert,' he said holding out his hand in gesturing for her to go first.

Elena grabbed her glass of orange juice and walked out of the kitchen and into the parlor. She curled up on the chair and waited for Damon to get comfortable in the seat next to her.

Damon set his glass down on the table and turned to face her.

'Alright, let's get all of this sorted out now.'

Elena chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to think where best to start. She ran her fingers along the rim of her glass and frowned slightly as she thought about it.

'Okay, well I really don't know where to start off so let's just start with the most recent drama and talk about Stefan.'

Damon nodded and rolled his eyes. 'This should be fun.'

'Well I only really have one thing I want to know about him and then I'm letting it all go.'

'And what would that be?'

'When you spoke to him…about this whole thing, I'm guessing I came up in the conversation so…did he look…like he was having any doubts about…you know…breaking up with me?'

Damon looked at Elena's eyes, seeing a glimmer of hope that maybe Stefan did have doubts because for Elena that's all it took. A simple glimmer of hope and she would go marching off determined to try and win him back. Damon sighed and shook his head slightly. Elena drew in a staggered breath and looked down at her glass again.

'Alright, thank you. That's…all I wanted to know.'

'So what else do you want to talk about?'

Elena set her glass down and sat closer to Damon.

'That night in the kitchen, when Katherine asked you if I was worth dying for…you said yes…did you mean that or…were you just…trying to throw her off, make her lose her concentration so that you could attack?'

Damon looked down for a while and then let out a sigh.

'Yes, it was true. I didn't say it to simply throw her off,' he looked up then at Elena. 'I said it because it was true. If I had to die in order to save you I'd do it…because you're about the only person I would ever consider worthy of dying for…you…mean that much to me.'

Damon didn't know why he had told her that and now he was seriously regretting it. He was usually so good at _not_ showing people how he really felt and that was because usually he didn't really feel anything for anyone. But Elena was different and now…it was like he just couldn't hide his feelings from her and the more he tried to keep those feelings hidden, the more they tried to claw their way to the surface. Elena smiled slightly at him and it held a glimmer of the sort of smile she only ever gave to Stefan and that glimmer seemed to make Damon's whole stomach twist and knot.

Elena felt warm all over at his words. She didn't know how much Damon had actually cared about her until now. Fair enough Isobel had told her that he was in love with her but at this moment in time she fully realized just how much he truly loved her.

'Thank you Damon…for caring that much for me.'

Damon smiled slightly. 'Trust me it was never intended to happen but…I guess you kind of grow on people,' Damon replied in a teasing tone, his usual smirk failing slightly.

Elena rolled her eyes. 'I could say the same for you.'

Damon smiled and leaned over the arm of the chair to pick up his glass of blood. As he took a sip of his drink he felt soft lips on his cheek. He swallowed the blood and turned to look at Elena, who now sat inches from him.

'What was that for?' Damon asked a slight frown on his face.

'A simple…'thank you' kiss,' she replied, smiling warmly at him.

Damon set his glass down again and looked back to her, she still had not moved. He could hear her heart racing, feel the heat coming off her body. She was either lying to him about why she had given him that kiss or…she was excited.

Damon's 'logical' side switched off completely became detached from the rest of him. Damon moved in closer to Elena, she did not move. He swallowed and then closed the space between them, their lips locking in a soft, hesitant but electrifying kiss. He could feel the heat of her body seeming to flow through the kiss into his own. He heard a soft moan escape her and that was all he needed. He pulled her closer to him, kissing her passionately, her heart racing away. He felt her hands move into his hair, gripping at the roots, making him groan softly. He pulled her onto his lap, his hands resting on her hips as he tasted more of her sweet lips. This was nothing like what he had imagined a kiss from Elena would be like…it was a hundred thousand times better. It was filled with heat, passion and a surge of electricity. But at the same time, beneath that burning passion it was soft, intimate, warm and it was her giving herself completely into that kiss. Damon could not believe this was happening. He was actually kissing Elena Gilbert, a woman he was so sure he would never get, a woman he had not wanted to begin with, a woman he had merely wanted to use to get back at Stefan but found himself falling more and more in love with her. Her hot breaths in his mouth made him groan softly once again, his hands gripping her hips, the heat building up, becoming even more intense. He was surrounded by her once more but it was not just her scent anymore, it was her hot breath, it was the feel of her skin beneath his touch, it was her soft moans ringing in his ears. She completely surrounded him. But just as suddenly as it all started it was brought a sudden, screeching stop.

Elena broke away and then got off of him, trying to slow her breathing, running her hand through her hair.

'What…Elena…what is it?' Damon asked in a whisper. His breathing heavy as he looked at her with concern.

'Damon…I…'she swallowed, trying to rid herself of the lump in her throat. She looked down. 'I…I can't do this…I'm sorry.'

Elena ran out of the house and disappeared down the drive. Damon was frozen, he couldn't move. He didn't understand what had happened to make her stop. What had he done to cause her to break such an intense, intimate moment between them? Damon let out a low growl and stood up. He grabbed the glass and threw it into the fireplace hearing it shatter. He went upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him before he began to pace back and forth in his room, replaying the scene that had just occurred trying to find out what had happened, but he just couldn't find anything that he may have done wrong. He let out a low sigh and flopped down onto his bed, brows furrowed as he stared up at the ceiling.

'I just can't ever get what I want,' he whispered to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews that I have been receiving. They have been great. IkeaGoddess, thank you to you for all the in depth reviews you have been giving me. They are wonderful and really keep me going. And notashamedtobesoilyfan…I loved the last review you gave me. It made me chuckle **__**J**__** To all my new readers, thank you for all your reviews and I hope I can keep this story going for a little while longer because I have so many ideas reeling around in my mind so this could turn out to be a much longer story than I had planned it to be. So enjoy the next Chapter and review, review, review. **_

_Elena ran out of the house and disappeared down the drive. Damon was frozen, he couldn't move. He didn't understand what had happened to make her stop. What had he done to cause her to break such an intense, intimate moment between them? Damon let out a low growl and stood up. He grabbed the glass and threw it into the fireplace hearing it shatter. He went upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him before he began to pace back and forth in his room, replaying the scene that had just occurred trying to find out what had happened, but he just couldn't find anything that he may have done wrong. He let out a low sigh and flopped down onto his bed, brows furrowed as he stared up at the ceiling. _

'_I just can't ever get what I want,' he whispered to himself. _

**Chapter Eight: **

Elena's POV:

Elena reached home, found the spare key to the front door, quickly opened it and went inside.

'Jenna, are you home?' she called out and waited for a few moments.

Silence.

Elena let out a sigh of relief knowing Jenna wasn't home and probably wouldn't be home for a few hours. She ran upstairs to her room, closed the door and kicked off her shoes before she began to pace back and forth, running her hand through her hair ever so now and again as she played back what happened. A part of her still not wanting to believe that she had just kissed Damon Salvatore…no wait, that she had _let_ Damon Salvatore kiss her and that _she_, Elena Gilbert, actually kissed him back and clearly she enjoyed it immensely, more than a broken hearted girl should.

What had she been thinking when she had let that happen? Clearly she wasn't using her logical thinking as far as that was concerned but she had told herself that she would not fall for Damon because he was Stefan's brother and even though Stefan clearly didn't feel anything for Elena, she was still hurting over that. She would not use Damon or any other guy as a rebound to try and console her broken heart because that was just so wrong and something she would never do. Yes, fair enough Damon could be an asshole at times but he didn't deserve that sort of treatment and I'm sure, in some weird way, he would feel like he was back with Katherine if she did because once again he would just be getting used by a woman, not for some little game but to heal a broken heart for now and once it was healed what then? Would she just dump him one side and move on with her life? Would she actually find that she truly does love him and that he means more to her than just 'the rebound guy'? Elena let out a sigh and moved to grab her diary from its hiding place. She sat down on the seat by the window and looked out over the street where a few of the neighbors were walking by. She chewed on the back of the pen as she tried to calm her racing mind and set things in some form of order.

_Dear Diary, _

_I don't know what happened today but it ended with an intense kiss and me leaving the boarding house. _

_From the beginning…Stefan does not care about me and I'm guessing he hasn't for quite some time. Damon confirmed that for me today and I found that I was strangely…at peace with that. Maybe it's because I have been spending the last few days with Damon and he's been there to comfort me when I needed it. Sure I could have gone to Bonnie or Caroline but…I didn't want to. The only place I have wanted to be was at the boarding house and…I've only wanted to be in Damon's company. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it was the closest to Stefan that I was going to get and maybe I just needed to be there to have some sort of…closure. _

_On top of that I found out that now I have another vampire relative…my brother. Jeremy has become a vampire and he left me a note. I felt happy and sad all at once. I was happy because he forgave me in the letter and that's all I ever wanted, was his forgiveness because him and I had always been so close and it was absolute torture for me feeling as though he despised me and would never forgive me. Yet at the same time as being happy, I was sad because I never got a chance to hug him and tell him how much I love him, even though I'm not really his sister…by blood at least. He said he'd come back to Mystic Falls some day but I just don't know when that will be and that is what makes me the saddest. I can only hope that he will write when he can and that he will let me know he is alright from time to time. So to round up my family: My real mother is a vampire and a big disappointment in my eyes, my uncle John turned out to be my real father whom Katherine has now killed and my brother has recently turned into a vampire. I know people always say that their families are weird…but mine takes the cake. Mine is beyond weird…so weird I often think that I'm just in one big, twisted dream and I'm waiting for someone to wake me up. But somehow I've managed to make peace with all of that. _

_But there is just one thing I can't seem to understand completely. How did I end up letting Damon Salvatore kiss me? And why don't I regret it? _

_We were sitting on the chair, discussing all these things about Stefan not caring and then about what he said in the kitchen that night that Katherine had a hold of me. Today was the first time I actually got a faint idea of how much Damon really cares about me…about how much he really…loves me. When he told me what he did I felt…like my heart was going to explode with so much…I don't know exactly but it felt like my heart was just swelling up inside my chest. I felt warm all over at his words and for the first time since I started seeing the good side of Damon, it wasn't hidden behind walls of arrogance or cocky little comments. For the first time all of that came crashing down and I was let in. I experienced what no one else ever had. I experienced the warmth and love that Damon had for no one else…apart from me. He doesn't care much for anyone else, as he always says, but today…I saw just how much he cared for me. I could see he was trying so hard to build up those walls again but they just wouldn't go up. _

_And then that's when it happened. I don't know why I did it, perhaps I was just so wrapped up in this sudden realization that I couldn't help but do it but I leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek and as I breathed in the scent of his cologne that I have grown to love so much I felt my heart race and I pulled away. He asked why I had done that. I lied…kind of. I told him it was a simple thank you kiss for caring so much. It wasn't really a lie but it wasn't the entire truth either. In part, yes it was to thank him, but the real reason was that I was acting on impulse and that impulse wanted to kiss him, wanted to do more than a simple kiss on the cheek but my logical thinking still had a slight hold over me. But it seemed that my 'logical' thinking faded away completely after that or else I would have stopped Damon when he leaned in closer to me. But I didn't and that was like an open invitation for him to continue on the path he was set on. It was like rolling out the welcome mat and telling him to just go right ahead. And that's what he did. _

_His lips locked with mine in a soft, hesitant kiss. He was clearly bracing himself for me to push him away and quite possibly slap him across the face because that is exactly what I would have done if I was in my right mind…but clearly I wasn't. I wasn't thinking at all…it was all that impulse again. His lips felt strange against my own and yet they were exactly what I wanted to feel. I did not push him away and I tried not to moan but I couldn't help myself. My entire body seemed to heat up and my heart was racing away. As soon as that moan escaped me everything just broke out like a raging fire. The kiss became more passionate and Damon pulled me closer to him. My entire body seemed to delight at being wrapped in his arms, to be held so close to him as his lips continued to move with mine, locked in a passionate embrace of their own. My breathing was ragged and I made my way onto his lap, my hands running through his hair. I had never experienced such a burning passion for anyone in my entire life until now and…it was with Damon Salvatore. _

_He was all around me and I felt like all my problems had just faded away completely. Nothing else mattered at this point. It was just him, me and our intense kiss and that was all that I wanted. It was all that I needed….and that scared me. I pulled away from Damon and I could see the look of concern in his eyes, those intense blue eyes that at one point I used to despise because of what he had done but now…I had grown to love them. He was clearly trying to work out what he had done wrong and it wasn't anything he had done. This had all felt…so good and that scared me for some reason. It scared me because I shouldn't feel like this for Damon so soon after what has happened with Stefan. I should be a broken heart girl but I'm not. In that one kiss it seemed that every wound I had on my heart just seemed to close right up. I'm scared that this is all some dream that is just going to shatter and reveal the cold, dark reality of just being utterly alone and unloved. I'm scared that this is all too good to be true. I'm scared that maybe I let Damon in, give him my heart and…well a repeat scenario happens and he runs off in search of Katherine and I know I won't be able to handle that sort of pain again. I think it's safe to say that….I do love Damon and…for I just feel like I shouldn't because it's too soon and I'm worried that this isn't really love at all, just a rebound version of love. I'd hate myself if that was the case and…that's why I left. I couldn't explain it to him. I couldn't get the words out and I know he must be quite hurt and possibly even angry at me for what I did but…I needed to get all these thoughts out, get them on paper so that maybe then I'll be able to explain it all to him…sort of. That's even if he wants to see me again after what has happened. _

Elena set her pen down and read over what she had written. Once again it all just looked like an over flow of emotions, jumping from one thing to the next but that's what her mind seemed to be like these days. She only wished it would settle down soon. She was growing tired of feeling as though she were on a rollercoaster. She wanted things to slow down, to become calm again and take on some form of normalcy. It seemed like she was wishing for too much but she clung to that wish and was determined to see it come to reality. Elena sighed and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. She got up and went through her contacts list, stopping when she found Damon's number. She chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to decide if she wanted to phone him or not and then whether to phone him or send him a text. She was afraid of what he might say, what he might sound like.

'Text it is,' Elena whispered to herself.

_**Damon,**_

Elena's fingers hovered over the keys of her phone and her mind was a complete blank. What the hell was she going to say to Damon? _Hey Damon sorry I freaked out on you there but you know I actually really love you and…well yeah I don't actually know why I ran away like that but I hope you can forgive me. Love Elena. _Elena shook her head of that thought. It was stupid but she had to tell him something.

_**I'm sorry for just running out like that with no explanation. I know you're probably wondering what it is that YOU did wrong but please believe me when I say it wasn't anything you did. I understand if you're angry at me and don't want to talk to me right now but…I would like to see you sometime soon so that we can talk about all of this. **_

Elena sighed as she looked at the words. It seemed like lately all she did was talk things out with Damon. First with Stefan, then her brother and now it would be about this. She was tired of talking and tired of crying. Maybe that's why she didn't stop Damon. Maybe her body was tired of having her mind in control. Maybe it wanted to just try and heal her in its own way. Elena looked down and began to type again.

_**I know you're probably tired of talking about things but I really need to tell you what I did and…what I've discovered. Just give me a call or a…text message back telling me when you want to get together, if you do at all. **_

_**Elena.**_

Elena sent the message before she could change her mind and then set her phone on the bed side table. She ran a hand through her hair and then walked down stairs to get something to eat. It was close to lunch time and she decided that she better force some food into her stomach, even though she didn't feel like eating. She needed to do something to try and take her mind off of all this emotional chaos in her life.

At some point of the morning Damon had fallen asleep on the bed and by the time he woke up it was late afternoon. Damon ran a hand over his face and through his hair as he sat up, swinging his legs off the bed as his hand moved to rub the back of his neck. He picked up his phone from the bed side table to check the time and noticed he had a message.

Damon opened the message and read it. He hit the reply button and was going to reply with a simple answer but he couldn't do it. He growled and cancelled the reply setting his phone back on the bed side table. A part of him wanted to go and see her and hear this whole explanation she had for him because that part of him, that 'rational' part of him, knew that she had every right to do what she had done. But that part of him wasn't in control right now. Right now he was a wounded vampire, a vampire who didn't fully understand what he had done wrong, a vampire who once again, it seemed, would not be getting what he wanted. He had opened up to her, he had let her in, they had kissed and it was the most intense kiss he had ever experienced in his life…it was the type of kiss that seemed to confirm that she was meant to be his, that they were meant to be together but then it all shattered. The warmth of her body, her emotions, her soul were ripped away from him and he was left sitting on the couch, suddenly feeling cold and…vulnerable which was something Damon Salvatore had not felt in a very long time. He just needed some time to himself right now. Some time to try and sort through all this chaos that had arrived on his doorstep the moment his saintly brother decided to go on his whole heroic, romantic mission to search for his long lost love and declare his love for her. Damon rolled his eyes at the thought of that and shook his head. He headed off to the bathroom to have a quick shower.

Once he was done in the shower he dried off and got dressed in his usual choice of black attire. He sat down at his desk and pulled out a pen and paper. He held the pen poised above the paper and tried to think of what to write down. He wasn't used to this, pouring out his feelings onto a piece of paper because for years he never cared for emotions. They just got in the way. But he needed to do this, he wouldn't leave without leaving her some form of explanation should she come around here looking for him. He let out a sigh and then began to scribble down what he was feeling. It took him nearly two hours to get through it all but he finally managed to get it all out. He folded the letter and placed it into an envelope. He wrote Elena's name on it and then stood t pack a few things into a small bag for himself. He walked to the guest room and found Elena's few belongings. He placed them in a bag, walked into his room to grab his bag and the letter and then headed downstairs.

He set Elena's things down on the floor with the letter on top of it. He didn't want to do this but he was hurting and…well he just really needed a few days to himself, a few days to cool off and not do something he may regret, something that may cost him Elena's friendship because he couldn't afford to lose that…if that's all he would ever have. He looked around the boarding house one last time, grabbed the keys to his car and headed out.


	9. Chapter 9

_He set Elena's things down on the floor with the letter on top of it. He didn't want to do this but he was hurting and…well he just really needed a few days to himself, a few days to cool off and not do something he may regret, something that may cost him Elena's friendship because he couldn't afford to lose that…if that's all he would ever have. He looked around the boarding house one last time, grabbed the keys to his car and headed out. _

**Chapter Nine: **

Elena was going to make something simple to eat but when she got into the kitchen she decided on cooking something that would take a good few hours to prepare. It's what she needed to get her mind off of everything. She dragged out a cook book and decided on making a roast with potatoes, vegetables and rice with gravy. Once the roast was done Elena cut it up and dished up the food for the family and then went about cleaning up before she pulled out things to bake some cookies. She was busy with this when Jenna came home and walked to the kitchen a frown on her face.

'Alright, who are you and what have you done with Elena?'

Elena turned around, a little short of breath and her face filled with white patches of flour, her hair tied up in a loose ponytail.

'Hey Jenna,' she replied with a small smile.

'What's going on here?' Jenna asked and looked around.

'Oh…um…well I was going to make something light but…well I just decided to go all out with the cooking.'

Jenna looked around and then back at Elena.

'I can see that. And you do a better job of cooking than I do. So tell me what's bothering you then.'

'What makes you think anything is bothering me?' Elena asked, giving a small, nervous laugh as she began to clear up.

'Well usually this is what most women do when they're angry or trying to distract themselves from something so…which are you? Angry or Distracted?'

Elena sighed and turned around to face Jenna. She was caught out, there was no reason to try and hide it now. Elena set the dish cloth down and sat at the table while waiting for the cookies to finish baking.

'Boy trouble and lots of it.'

Jenna sat down across from her.

'Well then let's hear it.'

Elena began to tell Jenna about everything, obviously leaving out all the vampire things but in a nutshell what had happened. Stefan had broken up with her and Damon had to be the one to tell her that the reason Stefan had broken up with her was not because he felt that she was falling for Damon but because his ex-girlfriend came back to town and he wanted to be with her. Stefan didn't care about Elena anymore and the 'bad boy' brother Damon Salvatore was the only one who was there for her, ready to comfort her and answer any questions she had. She went on to tell Jenna about how she felt about Damon, about how she had grown to care about Damon, more than she ever thought she would. She told Jenna about how Damon felt about her, about the kiss that had followed, about all her confusion over this whole thing.

'And now, I'm trying to keep my mind off of it all because I know how I feel about Damon and it scares me a little because I shouldn't feel this way. I'm supposed to be heart broken and yet I'm not. And I just left like that today and…I don't know what to expect from him. I've probably hurt him and I'm trying not to think about that because…well I just don't think my mind or my heart could think about that as well right now.'

Jenna looked at Elena for a long while before she drew in a breath and let it out slowly.

'And I thought I had really complicated 'guy trouble' in my life.'

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'Thanks Jenna, that makes me feel so much better.'

'Sorry, I didn't mean to make it worse. But I say follow your heart on this one. Stefan clearly wasn't the right choice for you, even though he pulled off the 'good guy' role really well. It looks to me like Damon is the better match for you.'

Elena sighed and looked at Jenna. 'How can you say that? You don't trust him and, apart from his good looks, you never really liked anything else about him.'

'Yeah, well that's true but let's look at this for a moment. You said yourself that Damon has never lied to you, he's never kept things from you and, even though it wasn't his place to tell you about why Stefan really dumped you, he did. In my opinion that points to someone who really, truly cares about you Elena. That's what someone who cares about you and…loves you does. They don't keep secrets, they don't lie and they tell you the truth no matter how much it hurts because they'll be there to comfort you.'

Elena frowned as she thought about it all. Jenna was right. If Damon didn't love her so much he wouldn't have bothered telling her and he wouldn't have gone through...everyrthing he has.

'Thanks Jenna.'

'Hey, that's what I'm here for,' Jenna replied smiling warmly at Elena.

Elena set down the cloth and hugged Jenna. She pulled away and let out a sigh.

'Well I'm going to go and see if I got a text back from him yet or not.' Elena said as she stood up.

'And if he hasn't sent one back and you feel you're ready to talk to him then I suggest you go over there tonight and speak to him...while it's all still fresh in your mind.'

Elena smiled at Jenna and nodded before heading upstairs.

Elena closed her bedroom door and checked her phone, letting out a heavy sigh as her heart sank when she saw there was no message from him at all.

'Go and see him Elena,' she said to herself and went into the bathroom to get cleaned up.

An hour later she was heading out the door, keys in hand and ready to go and speak with Damon. She got into the car and drove off to the boarding house.

Elena arrived at the boarding house and frowned as she saw it in darkness, no light but a light glow from the parlor window which must have been coming from the fireplace. Elena closed the car door and headed up to the house. She knocked on the door and waited a few minutes for a response. When none came she attempted to open the door, finding it unlocked.

'Damon?' she called out into the boarding house as she slowly stepped inside, looking around, suddenly feeling a little uneasy being there.

'Damon, are you here?'

It was stupid question but then again one never did know if a vampire was home or simply playing a game of 'let's scare the human'. She walked down the hall slowly and went into the parlor. The fire was blazing in the fireplace but there was no sign of Damon at all. Elena turned to leave the parlor when she noticed a bag set down on the floor and an envelope on the top of it. She walked over to the bag and picked up the letter. It was addressed to her. Elena already felt a lump forming in her throat. The last time she received a letter in this house it was from her brother. She drew in a staggered breath and sat down in one of the chairs. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked over her name, written finely across the envelope. She slowly turned it over and opened it up. She pulled out the letter and began to read:

_Elena, _

_I've placed the few things you left here earlier in the bag that came with this envelope. I figured you'd like them back. _

_I'm really not good at writing about how I feel or why I do what I do because I usually just do what I do because I feel like it and I don't feel the need to explain to anyone. But you're different and you're the only person I feel I need to...attempt to explain what I have done and why. So here it goes. _

_I've left town for a few days. I needed to get away, to clear my head after what happened between us. I know that you said to me you wanted to see me and explain to me why you did what you did,why you freaked out like that today but I...couldn't bring myself to see you. Not yet anyways. I wont lie to you Elena, I was...hurt by your actions but I don't blame you or want you to think that I am angry at you for pulling away like that. I understand why you did that but it doesn't mean it didn't hurt me. I hate being vulnerable. I hate letting my guard down and getting close to people because that's how you end up getting hurt the worst. Today all those walls came crashing down that I had spent years building up. Today, in that kiss, I truly let you in. I let you feel exactly how I feel about you in that kiss. So, when you pulled away like that...I had no way of building those walls back up. They're completely shattered and for the first time in a century and a half...I actually felt...human. That scared the hell out of me and it made me angry and it still does. So I just need to take a few days away to cool off. To try and pull in the emotions because I was afraid that if I did see you now...I would just do something that would make me lose you as a friend and to be honest, if your friendship is all I will ever get then I am not doing one damn thing that will make me lose it. I would rather have you in my life as a friend than not have you in it at all. God, that sounds so cliche but I have no other way of putting it. _

_I know this letter is probably not making any god damn sense at all but basically I just wanted to let you know that I've left town for a few days. I might go to Georgia but I'm not too certain on that yet. In a nutshell: I'm a vampire who had his guard knocked down, let a woman in and showed her how he felt and it all just went downhill from there. I just need time. I promise that I will let you know when I am back in town. I know you can be one stubborn little human so I hope you don't attempt to find me. But I won't be surprised if you do. _

_I'll see you soon Elena and hopefully when I do come back we can try and explain ourselves a little better. _

_Take care of yourself please. _

_Damon. _

The tears just rolled down Elena's cheeks and the lump finally broke into quiet sobs. She crumpled the letter up in her hand, angry at herself now for causing him to leave. She knew that she had every right to do what she had done earlier but now she wished she hadn't. Elena stood up and looked around the empty boarding house, the only sounds were her quiet sobs and the crackling from the fireplace. She moved out of the parlor and walked up the stairs in a blurry daze. She found her way into Damon's room and stood in the doorway looking around, closing her eyes as she inhaled the scent of his cologne that still lingered there, the tears now falling silently down her cheeks. She swallowed and drew in a staggered breath before taking a step into his room and switching on the light so that she could see it properly. Her eyes moved over everything in the room. Some small part of her knew she was being absurd. Damon was going to be back in a few days, it wasn't like he was gone forever. But the rest of her was acting as though he were. She was acting as if she had just received the news that he had died.

Elena walked over to his desk, running her finger lightly across the top of it. She moved from the desk over to shelves holding a variety of books. She ran her fingers over the spines and stopped when she found one that caught her attention. It had Damon's initials on it. She pulled it out and opened it slowly to reveal a journal of sorts...or an attempt at keeping one. She smiled slightly as she recalled him telling her how he had attempted to keep a journal at one stage but hadn't succeeded. She took the book and walked over to his bed. She sat down on the bed, tucking her legs under her as she opened it up. The entries were all recent and she scanned through some of them noticing the change in him as he wrote. He went from writing about destroying this town, about hating humans so much, about Katherine. This was in almost every entry up until the one that caught Elena's eye. It was an entry about her. It was an entry dated on the night that they had opened that tomb in an attempt to rescue Katherine who was never there. Elena knew she shouldn't be reading any of this but she had started and now she couldn't stop.

_Katherine was never in that tomb. I went through all of this for no god damn reason and what makes it even worse is that she is still alive. Always has been and hasn't even bothered to come and find me. It seems everyone gets their happy ending except me. But something happened tonight that made me feel...well not as foolish as I should have. And it happened with Elena. _

_She came back into that tomb and she pleaded with me to get out of it. I looked into her eyes and I could see the concern she had for me. I could see she truly cared about me getting out of that tomb. I had to follow. I walked out into the night and I felt completely...empty. The one woman I have loved for over a century was not in the tomb she was supposed to be in. I felt...shattered. I had nothing to live for anymore. There was no drive there in me, nothing keeping me attached to this god forsaken world. And then Elena walked over to me and she wrapped her arms around me. She pulled me to her in a warm, tight embrace. And she told me she was sorry. I could tell she was truly sorry. Her words and her embrace were enough to make me want to break down completely. I tried so hard to bite back the tears that I knew were going to come rolling out and it was so not this vampire's thing to cry. But she made me want to do just that. She was...healing my wounds already with those words and with that hug. Somehow she was the only one who truly seemed to understand me. Elena somehow has a way of understanding me and that...scares me a little. I can never keep things hidden from her. She seems to be able to see through everything I have up and get right to the point of why I do what I do, why I act the way I do and that is just something I never expected her to be able to do. _

_I'm still a mess over this whole discovery about Katherine and yet...I don't feel as shattered as I did earlier and that's all because of her. _

Elena smiled slightly as she finished reading his entry. It was so strange being able to read his true feelings like this. It showed her that even he had real feelings even if he said he didn't care or acted like he wasn't that hurt by what had happened. He had been truly hurting. Elena flipped through another few pages and stopped at another entry. It was dated after Isobel had visited Mysitc Falls.

_Great, my skill of being able to hide my true feelings must be failing hopelessly around here if Isobel, who hasn't been here in Mystic Falls in years can see right through me. Although I suppose me going to see her and telling her that coming into town and threatening people I care about, especially Elena was a dead give away right there that I had feelings for her. I thought she would pick up that I cared about Elena...not that I loved her. _

_Now the cat is out of the bag. Now Stefan knows, although I'm sure he already knew too, and Elena knows. I didn't want her to know because we have just started forming a close friendship and maybe through that something more may have happened but that was highly unlikely. And her knowing the truth really wouldn't change anything. She would always love Stefan and I would just be the brother that she had a close friendship with. She wouldn't look at me any differently and now tonight I had to get the whole 'history will not be repeating itself where Elena is concerned' speech from Stefan. _

_Truth be told...I KNOW for a FACT that I would be better for her than Stefan ever would be. Elena needs someone she can trust to tell her the truth, to not hide things from her. She needs someone, if it's going to be a vampire for a boyfriend, then it needs to be someone who has CONTROL over himself when around blood. I could give her all of that and so much more. It's hard for people to believe that the 'big bad' Salvatore brother can actually feel things but it's true and...I only feel them for Elena. Katherine...well the bitch lost her hold over me the moment I found out she was still alive and that she's known all along where I have been and hasn't bothered to even look for me. Elena is someone so completely different to Katherine. Elena...is truly everything I would want in a woman. _

_I can't believe I'm writing all this down. I never keep journals. I lose interest in keeping them but...I need to keep one with my feelings for Elena. I don't think I'll ever feel the way I feel about her for anyone else. I guess I need to keep these memories written down so that I don't forget that I actually felt this way for a human...that I could actually...love someone other than Katherine. _

Elena shut the journal feeling worse off than she had before about what she had done. She picked up the journal and put it back in its place. She continued to walk around the room and stopped when she found one of his shirt tossed over the door of his closet. She took it down and held it close, inhaling the scent of him and the tears began to fall again. Elena was fighting a raging battle inside. Would she be the stubborn girl she was and go and find him, or would she just leave him be and let him come home when he was ready to? She held the shirt close to her as she walked out of his room, making sure to switch off the light. She walked down the stairs, grabbed the bagand the scrumpled up letter before walking out of the boarding house and back to her car. She tossed the bag inside and got into the driver's side. She wanted to go after him because she was afraid that the days would turn into weeks, weeks would turn into months and months into years. She was afraid that maybe he would just decide not to come back at all. She drew in a staggered breath. No, this was Damon, he would come back to her. He wouldn't just not come back. She tried to tell herself that over and over again, trying to give herself some form of comfort that he would return to her and that they could discuss all this, get past it and move on with...well whatever may follow after it. She started the car and headed off back home.

Elena arrived home, grabbed the bag, the shirt and the letter and headed inside. Jenna naturally was stil awake and when she heard the front door close she came through from the living room.

'So, how did it go?'

Elena looked at Jenna and simply shook her head. 'He's um...he's left town for a few days,' she replied, chewing on her bottom lip trying to stop the fresh tears from falling.

'Oh, Elena...I'm...I'm so sorry,' Jenna replied and walked over to Elena, giving her a tight hug, trying to comfort her but Elena felt completely...numb.

'It's okay...I'll be fine,' Elena replied, stepped away from her aunt and walked upstairs, closing her bedroom door behind her.

She set the bag down on the floor, put the letter on her dresser and then began to get undressed. She slipped on Damon's shirt and then climbed into bed, switching off the light and hugging herself tightly as she inhaled his scent, a few tears falling onto her pillow and then she drifted off to sleep.

Damon stared out the window of a motel in Georgia, staring out at the darkness that engulfed the parking lot, a glass of whiskey in his hand and a frown on his face. He wondered if he had done the right thing by leaving. He wondered if he really needed a few days away from her because right now it didn't feel like he had made the right choice.

He sipped on the whiskey and thought about his actions. He hated feeling like this. He hadn't felt this...human in over a century. He had learned to switch all of that off because without it in the way it made life a lot easier for him, considering he was going to be living for an eternity and human emotions just made things more...complicated. Now he just couldn't seem to switch any of it off. He didn't want to switch off his feelings for Elena...he couldn't. He knew the switch for those feelings had snapped off ages ago and there was no way of fixing it to make it any other way. But it seemed all this pain, all the guilt for just leaving like that, the...wounded ego and vulnerability...all of that he really wanted to just switch right off and the more he tried the less it seemed to be working. He had considered going hunting earlier. He figured that maybe if he did that it would help with regaining some form of control over his old self but...Elena came to mind and all of that went out of the window.

Damon finished his whiskey, let out a sigh and turned away from the window. He set the glass down, took off his shirt, pants and shoes and then climbed into bed. He stared up at the ceiling, his mind focused only on her and within minutes he was asleep. Perhaps a good night's sleep is all he needed to get back on track. He needed to find some form of control on his life again...he needed to stop everything from spinning. He needed his existence to regain some form of order once more.

**A/N: I'm so sorry that this chapter has taken so long to be posted but I have been off for a while and had no way of uploading it. So...I really hope you enjoy reading it...I hope it's what you were sort of expecting and I'll be posting the next chapter or two soon. But till those are done...review, review, review :) Thank you.**

**Oh and on another note: A lot of my ideas came from listening to songs that were in the episodes of the first season of The Vampire Diaries...mainly: 'Sounds Under Radio-All You Wanted', 'Mads Langer-Beauty of the Dark', 'Lifehouse-It is what it is', to name but a few. :) **


	10. Chapter 10

_Damon stared out the window of a motel in Georgia, staring out at the darkness that engulfed the parking lot, a glass of whiskey in his hand and a frown on his face. He wondered if he had done the right thing by leaving. He wondered if he really needed a few days away from her because right now it didn't feel like he had made the right choice. _

_He sipped on the whiskey and thought about his actions. He hated feeling like this. He hadn't felt this...human in over a century. He had learned to switch all of that off because without it in the way it made life a lot easier for him, considering he was going to be living for an eternity and human emotions just made things more...complicated. Now he just couldn't seem to switch any of it off. He didn't want to switch off his feelings for Elena...he couldn't. He knew the switch for those feelings had snapped off ages ago and there was no way of fixing it to make it any other way. But it seemed all this pain, all the guilt for just leaving like that, the...wounded ego and vulnerability...all of that he really wanted to just switch right off and the more he tried the less it seemed to be working. He had considered going hunting earlier. He figured that maybe if he did that it would help with regaining some form of control over his old self but...Elena came to mind and all of that went out of the window. _

_Damon finished his whiskey, let out a sigh and turned away from the window. He set the glass down, took off his shirt, pants and shoes and then climbed into bed. He stared up at the ceiling, his mind focused only on her and within minutes he was asleep. Perhaps a good night's sleep is all he needed to get back on track. He needed to find some form of control on his life again...he needed to stop everything from spinning. He needed his existence to regain some form of order once more._

**Chapter Ten: **

_Dear Diary,_

_A few days have passed and still...No Damon. In fact the 'few days' seemed to have turned into almost a week and a half now. I've felt completely numb and I haven't felt like this since my parents died. People have noticed because I haven't exactly been able to pull off the 'I'm fine' line and fake smile that goes with it all too well. _

_I got cornered by Bonnie and Caroline about two days ago after school and they were not going to let me leave until I agreed to tell them what was going on. According to Caroline I have been like some 'programmed robot', I just do as I've been programmed to do and I don't ask questions. I agreed to tell them what was happening and I really dreaded it...and that dread was the first feeling I've had in over a week. I met them at The Grill last night and I spilled the beans on what had happened and as I did...all those old wounds just seemed to be sliced right open with a blade covered in salt. Natrually Bonnie and Caroline immediately started with the 'Are you crazy Elena! Damon Salvatore is NO GOOD for you' speech. And that speech really didn't help at all. It just made the wounds worse and brought about a fresh lot of tears...crying...something else I haven't done in over a week. Obviously when I started to cry they felt really bad and comforted me, whispering to me that they're just trying to make me see the truth about him, a truth they say I should already know about him. I told them they were wrong, that we were all wrong about him. Fair enough he had done a lot of things in this town that even had me against him, but I told them that he had another completely different side to him. A side that loved me and a side he only ever really showed to me. Eventually they caved in and told me that they were sorry for yelling and that they would attempt to give him a chance but they would be watching him very closely...Especially Bonnie. I told them that I didn't know if he was going to be coming back because 'a few days' to me did not interpret into a week and a half. A week and a half was a week and a half and a few days was a few days. But Caroline was there to try and re-assure me that in 'guy terms' a few days usually meant a week or a little more. It hasn't made me feel any better but I will try and hold onto that. _

_I guess I really needed to talk to my friends about all of this because in a way I do feel a little better than I was yesterday. I don't feel so numb anymore. I just really hope he comes back soon because he's all I've been able to think about and I've practiced my entire speech to him over and over again, so much so that I could probably say it in my sleep. Now I have to get ready to face another day at school. Thank goodness it's a Friday. _

Elena closed her journal and put it back in its hiding place. She pulled on her jacket, grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, drawing in a deep breath and letting out slowly as she prepared herself to face the day once more. Jenna had been worried about Elena, she could tell from the constant 'are you alright' looks that she had been getting. Finally it was Jenna's turn to ask the questions as she drove Elena to school.

'Alright, I know you're probably tired of everyone asking you this but how are you doing? And don't attempt to give me the 'I'm fine' answer because we both know that's a lie.'

Elena sighed as she looked out the window. 'Well...I'm a little better than I was thanks to my evening out with Bonnie and Caroline. But I still feel...numb. In the beginning I felt like anything was going to bring on a fresh bout of tears but...I have had practice at stopping that considering I had to do it when my parents died. I'm well practiced in pulling off the 'I'm fine' act. Eventually I just started feeling...nothing. If Stefan was someone I wasn't going to dwell over when we had our fights then...Damon isn't going to be any different.'

Elena winced slightly as she said his name out loud once again and she drew in a staggered breath. The only downfall of the whole 'talk' last night was the freshly opened wounds.

'Well alright, but the more you talk about it all, the more it heals everything.'

'Really, then why do I feel like all the wounds have just been sliced right open again?' Elena sighed and shook her head. 'I'll really be fine Jenna.'

The conversation ended there and just as they arrived at the school. Elena grabbed her bag and headed towards the school, preparing for yet another day that would just pass by in one big blur.

Finally the day was over and the weekend was here. It was just what Elena needed. She walked out of the school and headed towards the parking lot with Bonnie and Caroline. She was going to get a lift with Bonnie home. They were talking about the weekend plans they had when suddenly Bonnie and Caroline both stopped.

'What is it?' Elena asked, a frown on her face.

'Um...well I don't think you're getting a lift with me,' Bonnie answered, a slight frown on her face. She looked at Elena and then nodded towards the parking lot.

Elena, still frowning and a little confused at Bonnie's response slowly followed her gaze. He was there, leaning against the front of his car, arms folded across his chest, his eyes focused on her. Elena suddenly felt her heart race...something she had not felt in over a week. She had begun to believe that she had lost her heart completely. Her breathing picked up slightly and she drew in a staggered breath to stop tears from falling. Damon looked at her with a slight smile on his face, his ice blue eyes intense and serious. Elena tore her eyes away from his and looked at Bonnie and Caroline.

'I'll um...I'll talk to you guys later.'

Caroline and Bonnie nodded slowly, they gave Damon one last glare and then headed off to their cars. Elena turned around and walked towards Damon. She wondered if any of this was real or if it was just a dream, a dream that, if she was woken up from, would just cause her to break down couldn't be a dream because she was still at school, she remembers that...or maybe she wasn't and this had all been a dream too. She eventually reached him, her arms folded across her chest tightly, trying to hold herself together and then she caught the scent of his cologne, a scent she had almost forgotten. She looked down as she chewed on her lip to try and regain her composure. She looked up to him again and smiled slightly. He stood away from his car and looked down at her.

'Hello Elena,' Damon said, that slight smile still on his face, his voice making her shiver slightly with delight. She really had missed him so much.

'Hey Damon,' she replied in a slight whisper and then cleared her throat. 'When um...when did you get back?'

Damon ran a hand over his neck. 'This morning...early hours this morning.'

Elena frowned and felt a sudden flare of anger race through her. 'You got back this morning and you only show up now?'

Damon shrugged. 'I didn't want to wake you up and I knew Jenna wouldn't be too pleased if I showed up there at the crack of dawn to see you.'

Elena shook her head. 'Oh I think she probably would have preferred that than seeing me go through another day of absolute hell Damon!'

Elena pushed past Damon and began to walk past the car, furious that he had been here all this time and had not bothered to see her. She knew this was the irrational part of her doing all the thinking because deep down, even though Jenna would have loved to see them sorting everything out and seeing Elena begin to heal properly, she would have preferred it being done at a respectable time. But he could have come through her window and she would have preferred him waking her up to talk. But then how would she explain the sudden mood change to Jenna? Jenna would freak out if she knew that Damon had snuck into Elena's room through the window. While Elena's mind reeled through all of this, she wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings and suddenly hit into a hard chest that smelled divine...it was Damon. He placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her, causing her entire body to heat up instantly.

'Look Elena I'm really sorry okay but we both know Jenna wouldn't have been very welcoming,' Damon said to her in a stern voice. He sighed and let his hands fall to the side. 'Look can we just...go somewhere and talk? That's what is supposed to happen when I came back right?'

Elena let out a sigh and nodded her head. 'Alright, let's go.'

Damon walked back to his car and opened the door for her to get in. Once she was in he closed the door, went to the driver's side and got in. 'Where do you wanna go? The Grill? Your house? Mine?'

Elena frowned slightly; she didn't want to be at any of those places. 'Let's go to the library.'

'The library?' Damon asked a confused look on his face.

Elena smiled slightly. 'Um...yeah. I need to return a few books and get a few others...plus...I just...don't feel like being at The Grill or my house...or yours right now.'

Damon looked at her for a moment longer, obviously trying to assess whether she was just joking with him or being serious. 'Alright, the library it is,' he finally replied, started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, making his way down the road and towards the library. The drive there was a silent one and for some reason Elena was feeling a little nervous about all of this. She didn't know why exactly. Maybe it was because she was afraid that he was there just to tell her he was leaving for good, or maybe she was afraid he would listen to her speech, acknowledge it but tell her he no longer...felt the way he had before. They finally pulled into a parking outside the library and Damon was at her side of the car opening her door for her, his hand held out for her. She looked up at him and took his hand, giving him a small smile of thanks. Her stomach erupted with butterflies as she realized Damon had not let go of her hand as he led the way to the library. This to her was a good sign. Elena greeted the lady at the front desk where she handed in her books before heading inside and down one of the aisle where she began looking for a few more books. Damon followed close behind her and Elena felt her skin prickle...she knew he was watching her. Eventually when they found themselves in a place where there was no one around, Damon turned her around to face him.

'Alright, we need to talk...now,' he whispered to her, his eyes intense as they always were.

Elena nodded and drew in a deep breath before letting it go slowly. 'Alright,let's talk.'

Elena stood against the wall, arms folded across her chest and she chewed on her lip. Her 'well practiced speech' was now in complete disarray and she needed to get it all back into order once more and Damon standing so close was not helping. It took her a few minutes but she finally had it back in some form of order. She looked up at him once more.

'I obviously found your letter the same day that I had left the boarding house. I...uh...I went back there to talk to you but...well you had left. I'm...I'm really sorry for doing what I did Damon but, like you said you can't blame me for reacting that way. But let me tell you why I did that.'

Damon nodded his head slowly, his arms folded across his chest a frown on his face as he prepared for this.

'I got scared...and the reason I got scared was because, well in the few days prior to all of that I found out my now ex-boyfriend had left me to be with his ex and I was really a total mess over that and you know that. But...it seemed that when I was with you, when you were there to comfort me, I didn't feel so horrid and so, shattered anymore. And then...we kissed. Now usually, when someone is in love with a person and they have all that ripped away from them in the form of a break up, well they're meant to be shattered. They're meant to spend probably a good few weeks trying to heal, trying to get over it and move on. But...when we kissed Damon, I didn't feel that way at all. I didn't feel shattered anymore. I fetl like I was being...healed. Fair enough a part of me was screaming that this was all wrong, that I shouldn't be feeling like this, that I shouldn't be allowing this kiss to even be happening but, it was such a small part of me. The rest of me was...sick of talking, was sick of crying and feeling like I was not getting any better. No matter how much we talked about it...the pieces were just not getting picked up and put together. The rest of me felt that that kiss was exactly what I needed because the pieces just...started falling back into place. And that scared me.'

Elena looked down and drew in a staggered breath, trying to get the rest of her 'speech' back into a coherent train of thoughts.

Damon stepped closer, placing one hand on the wall beside her head. 'Why were you so scared?' he whispered.

Elena looked up and her heart began to race, her breath catching in her throat as she noticed how close he was. She could feel his warm breath brush over her face. This really didn't help her focus on the speech.

'Um...I was scared Damon because...I really wasn't supposed to be feeling like this about you and because...if what I was feeling about you was real...I didn't want it to be some form of a 'rebound' of the real feeling. I was scared that maybe my heart had decided it was alright for a 'rebound' version of...love. That my heart just wanted that until it was properly healed and then it would just...grow tired of having you around and then...well it would end in heartache for you. I didn't want that because I...don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have. And I knew that that would completely shatter you if that's all you were...was a 'rebound' guy.'

'Well...what made you decide I wasn't?' he asked, tilting his head slightly to one side, placing his other hand on the wall by her head.

'Well...you left and it gave me a lot of time to think about it. That and...I spoke with Jenna about all of it the night you left. The more I thought about it...the more I realized it couldn't be a 'rebound' thing. I felt...far too much for you and...it all felt far too real for it to be anything but true.' Elena whispered her eyes locked on his as she pressed herself further back against the wall.

Damon looked down at her and lifted one hand away from the wall to brush it over her cheek as he processed everything she said. He smiled slightly and then leaned down, placed a soft kiss on her cheek, inhaling her scent deeply, the scent he had missed intensely, and then moved his lips to her ear.

'Thank you, for explaining it all...and thank you...for feeling...so much for me.'

Damon felt Elena's body shudder, her heart race and a soft moan escape her. He pulled away slowly and looked down at her once more.

'Thank you Damon...um...for...feeling so much for me,' Elena whispered in return, her eyes moving from his down to his lips and then back to his eyes.

Damon didn't miss that, but would a kiss be appropriate at this time. After all, he didn't know if they were a couple or simply two friends moving along that road towards couple-hood. To kiss her or not to kiss her? That was his inner battle at this point. But the answer was clear when Elena moved away from the wall and stepped closer to him. She placed both her hands on his chest and looked up at him. Damon swallowed hard, his breathing becoming shallow as his body seemed to feel as though sparks of electricity shot through it from her touch. Damon cupped her face in his hands, amazed at how perfectly it sat in his hands, and leaned down slowly. He felt her warm breath over his face and then their lips touched. The taste of her lips took his breath away completely...he had missed the taste of her so much. He didn't recall her tasting this sweet. He felt her arms slowly move around his neck and heard a soft moan escape her. He moved his hands down to her hips and pulled her closer to him before wrapping his arms around her, preventing her from moving away from him. The kiss deepened and it became that same intense, fire-blazing kiss they had experienced at the house. Her breathing was ragged, her heart racing and her entire body was heating up, he could feel it all, taste it all. This was the point that she had pulled away and he braced himself for it to happen again...but it didn't. After a few moments, when he realized she wasn't pushing away, but rather clawing at him to try and pull him closer than was humanly possible, Damon pushed her back up against the wall and once again a moan escaped her. Her hands moved down his back, her fingers raking over his leather jacket and his hands found their way beneath her top, his finger grazing over the skin on her lower back.

Eventually Elena pulled away and rested her head against his, her eyes closed as she tried to slow her breathing.

'What's...what's wrong?' he whispered through ragged breaths, his body tensing slightly as he thought she was going to run again.

Elena opened her eyes and looked up at him. 'Um...well we should...get going...um...the library is closing soon.'

Damon frowned and then smirked, letting out a small laugh. 'Oh...right...I forgot where we were.'

Elena laughed softly and it felt so good to be able to laugh again. She leaned up and kissed Damon softly once more and it was so hard for her to pull away again. She took his hand into hers and led the way out of the library, saying good-bye to the lady in the front who eyed them suspiciously. Damon winked at the old lady and pulled Elena close, placing a soft kiss on her neck. Elena laughed once more as she realized why he was doing what he was doing. She hit him on the arm as she walked out the library.

'Now why would you go and give that woman even more reason to be suspicious of my real reason for going in there?'

Damon shrugged and shot Elena his usual smirk. 'Because it's fun.'

Elena rolled her eyes. 'Yeah well it won't be 'fun' if I'm ban from going into the library.' she replied as she walked to his car.

Damon shrugged. 'Oh she won't ban you...I'll just work my mind tricks and she won't do such things.'

Elena shook her head, and got into the car when Damon opened the door for her. He got in on his side and then turned to face her.

'Would you object to...dinner and a movie at my place tonight?' Damon asked.

Elena really wished she could say yes but she had already made plans with Bonnie and Caroline to go to The Grill.

'That sounds really good but...I told Bonnie and Caroline I was going to meet them at The Grill.'

Damon frowned and then sighed. 'Well I really wouldn't want you to get into trouble with the little witch and the mystic queen,' Damon replied, his usual smirk on his face.

Elena leaned in and kissed him softly. 'I'm free tomorrow night.'

'Tomorrow night it is then. Dinner and a movie, my place at seven.'

Elena smiled. 'It's a date.'

Damon loved the sound of that. He started the car and pulled out of the parking and drove off towards Elena's house.

They finally reached her house and Damon walked her to the door. Elena turned around and looked up at him.

'You haven't told me where you have been.'

'I'll tell you about all of it tomorrow night.' he replied and pulled her close, giving her a soft kiss. 'Enjoy your night out.'

'You know I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you came along,' Elena whispered.

She didn't want to be apart from him, she craved him, needed him...needed him to be by her always.

'Well I may decide to join you then but...I really wouldn't want to intrude on their lovely ladies night they clearly have planned.'

Elena nodded. She knew that Caroline and Bonnie would not really welcome the intrusion.

'Okay well then...I'll see you tomorrow.'

'Yes you will.'

They kissed once more and then Elena went inside. Damon got back into his car, her scent completely wrapped around him. He started the car and headed back to the boarding house.

Elena walked upstairs, well floated was more what it felt like, tossed her bag down, grabbed her diary and began to write about her day.

_Dear Diary, _

_He's back...Damon came back today and we talked...well I did all of the talking really. I told him how I felt, how sorry I had been for doing what I did. I told him why I acted the way I had and...Well in a 'beat around the bush' type of way I pretty much admitted that...I love him. It's scary knowing that I do love him but at the same time it is...amazing. It's so intense and so deep...it's unlike anything I've ever felt. I suppose that is why it scares me because I know if anything had to happen to take that away...I don't think I'd survive it. We kissed and it was that same intense,' fire raging through your entire body' kiss that we had shared at the boarding house. But this time...I didn't pull away; this time I wanted it to happen...I wanted that and so much more. But, I don't think the library would have appreciated it if we got really...intense while there. I wish that I hadn't made plans with Bonnie and Caroline tonight because Damon had wanted to do dinner and a movie. I knew I would not hear the end of it if I ditched them for Damon so I regretfully declined the dinner and movie. But it will be a plan for tomorrow night and one I am really looking forward to. I miss him so much already. _

_Well I think that's all I really wanted to say. I'm in seventh heaven right now so...this is really about all I can write down right now. I have to get ready for tonight. _

Elena put her journal away and then went into the bathroom to get ready for the evening out with her friends.

Damon arrived back at the boarding house, his mind focused completely on what had just happened. He was in complete disbelief really. He was waiting for all of this to have just been some really long, really twisted dream. He was waiting to wake up and find everything the way it always had been; him being the 'big bad' brother who everyone hates, Stefan still around brooding in his room and Elena...still on Stefan's arm instead of Damon's.

Damon walked inside and headed up the stairs to his room. He switched on the light and then felt something move towards him, grab him and throw him across the room and up against the wall. Damon growled low as his senses became alert and he looked around. He stood up and scanned the room. It came at him again but this time he dodged it, grabbed hold of it and threw it across the room. Swiftly he moved over to the other side of the room, picked it up and pinned it against the wall, a low growl escaping Damon, his eyes red, his fangs out.

'He...Hello...Brother.'

Damon glared in disbelief as he looked into the blackened eyes of Stefan.

'What the hell are you doing here?'

Stefan gave his brother a wicked smile. 'Cant I...visit...my...brother?' he choked out.

'No you can't...because we've never really been about 'brotherly bonding' Stefan. And I particularly don't want to see you right now after all you did to Elena,' Damon replied and growled low, tightening his grip on Stefan's neck. 'So...I'll ask again...what...the...hell...are you doing here?'

'The question...you should be...asking is...if...I'm here...where...is...Katherine?'

Damon's eyes widened and he looked away from Stefan. That was a valid question and the answer to it was: 'Where ever Elena was.'

Suddenly Damon felt a sharp pain in his side and then found himself up against the wall. His distraction had given Stefan the advantage he needed. Damon looked down to see a stake in his side. He growled low as he felt Stefan ram it in a little further.

'Now be good and just let Katherine do what she's come here to do Damon and then everything will be just the way it's supposed to be.'

Damon glared at Stefan. 'Are...you even...listening to yourself...Stefan! She's...going to...kill Elena!'

Stefan nodded and frowned slightly. 'Yeah she is...and then she'll come after you and then...it'll just be her and I,' Stefan replied a sinister smirk on his face.

Damon could not believe that this was his brother talking here, he couldn't believe that he had this sort of...monster buried in him. Damon couldn't let them get Elena. He struggled to get free but Stefan held him in place.

'Don't worry Damon...she's bringing Elena here. She wants you to watch her die, but until then, we have to make sure you behave.' Stefan pulled out a dart from his pocket.

'What goes around comes around brother,' he whispered and jabbed the dart into Damon's neck.

Damon growled as he felt the vervain course through his veins. The room began to spin and then it went black as he finally passed out. His final thought was of Elena.

_Oh God no, Elena. Please! Don't let them kill her. Elena! _


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Alright here is Chapter Eleven and a LONG chapter at that. I think Chapter Twelve will be the final chapter but then again you never know with me ****J**** I may decide to throw in something else ****J**** But that probably wont happen. **

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews and keep them coming ****J**** My inspiration comes from all your reviews as well as a beautiful selection of music! So here it is…Chapter Eleven. Enjoy and review! ****J**

**Chapter Eleven: **

Elena walked into The Grill with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step and when Bonnie and Caroline saw this they both simply rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

'So I take it all is well in paradise?' Caroline asked with a slight hint of annoyance in her tone when Elena reached them.

'I suppose you could say that,' Elena replied, not letting Caroline's tone get her down.

'Did you tell him about the hell he put you through by leaving like that?' Bonnie asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Elena's smile disappeared and she frowned.

'No I didn't tell him about any of that. I was just too happy to have him back,' Elena replied letting out a sigh and sat down at the table. 'All of that is over and I don't really need him to know about it. I'm just glad he actually came back.'

'Yeah well maybe he needs to know so that it'll make him think twice about leaving you again.' Bonnie mumbled as she grabbed the menu.

'Look can you guys just be happy with me and for me. I know neither of you like him and for good reason I get it but…can't you just put your hate for him one side and just…be happy that he makes me happy?'

Caroline looked at Bonnie, let out a sigh and then nodded.

'Alright, we'll try.'

Elena smiled. 'Thank you.'

The girls chatted away some more and Caroline and Bonnie were both glad to have Elena back to her old self. Fair enough they didn't like the fact that Damon was the reason behind that but they were willing to just push that aside and just be happy that she was back to 'happy Elena'. They ordered their food and sipped on their drinks, talking about school, about Matt and Caroline's recent recovery from some horrendous argument and about Bonnie finding out more about her powers. Caroline still had a little trouble believing all of that was real but she had promised that she wouldn't harp of Bonnie's case about it. She had said that she believed in it and she bit back any other comments that would prove otherwise. Elena looked around The Grill to see if maybe Damon had decided to show up but instead found a cute scene of Jenna and Alaric enjoying a dinner in a corner booth. They really did look so cute together and she was happy that Jenna had finally found someone who treated her with the respect she deserved. Elena smiled slightly and then turned her attention back to the table as their meals arrived.

After about half an hour Elena had to go to the bathroom. She excused herself from the table and headed in the direction of the bathroom. As she walked past the pool tables she stopped and looked back at the pool table right at the end. She scanned the faces and then shook her head. She had been so sure that she had seen…she shook her head to clear the thought and then continued into the bathroom. When she was done, Elena came out one of the stalls and walked over to the basin and washed her hands.

'Hello Elena.'

Elena spun around and was met by a set of cold, ruthless eyes and a sinister smile.

'Katherine,' she gasped in response.

'You and I have some unfinished business and it requires a change of venue.' Katherine said in a harsh, cold tone.

'What do you want from me?'

'Silly human,' Katherine replied and stepped closer. 'I want you dead that's all.'

'He…' Elena began to scream but suddenly she was captured in a vice grip and her mouth was covered by a hand.

'Oh come now, let's not draw any attention…I'm sure you'd hate it if I killed your pathetic little friends too. I just want you dead…let's not cause any other deaths to occur because of you.' Katherine hissed into her ear.

Katherine moved swiftly out of the bathroom and out the back. Elena tried to struggle against her hold and it was becoming really frustrating for Katherine. Once outside she knocked Elena out, threw her over her shoulder and headed off towards the boarding house.

Katherine's exit did not go completely unnoticed however. Alaric and Jenna's booth had been close enough to the bathroom for him to notice the two of them leaving. Alaric apologized to Jenna and said he had to attend to an urgent matter. He paid for the dinner, told Jenna he would call her later, placed a soft kiss on her cheek before he rushed outside. He scanned the streets looking for where Elena and her apparent doppelganger had disappeared to. His mind immediately kicked into over drive and he rushed to his car. He knew where they would be. He screeched out of the parking lot and headed towards the boarding house.

Damon groaned softly as he eventually came around, his body aching as the vervain still coursed through his veins. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around groggily, trying to grasp where he was exactly. He was still in his room, he gathered that much but he was in his chair. He tried to move his hands but as he did he growled low. His hands were tied together and the ropes were covered in….vervain. He felt his skin sear with pain as the ropes cut into it.

'Ah so you're finally awake.'

Damon glared up at his brother who now sat on the edge of the desk with a smug smirk on his face.

'You better hope that Katherine kills me because if she doesn't I'm really and truly going to rip your throat out,' Damon hissed low to his brother.

'Oh she will….she's told me her entire plan. There's only room in this world for one of her.'

'Elena is _nothing_ like Katherine. She's _better_ than Katherine ever was and ever will be. I thought you knew that. I guess deep down you were secretly hoping that Elena would turn out to be just like that psychotic bitch.'

Stefan growled and gripped Damon's throat, crushing his wind pipe.

'Don't you _dare_ talk about Katherine like that!' Stefan growled the words at his brother.

Damon chuckled softly and then coughed. 'Wow….isn't this….a real…turning of…the tables.'

Stefan released his grip on Damon's throat and settled back down on the edge of the desk, not even bothering to answer his brother's last remark. Damon coughed a little, wincing slightly as the ropes cut further into his wrists. He looked around the room, his mind working over time at trying to find some way to escape, some way to get to Elena…that's if Katherine hadn't gotten to her yet.

Damon turned his attention back to Stefan.

'What made you change your mind?'

Stefan looked at Damon a frown on his face. Damon rolled his eyes.

'Alright let me give you that question again in more simplified terms….Why did you stop loving Elena?'

Stefan let out a sigh and folded his arms across his chest.

'I never really…fully loved Elena. I mean you know…I was willing to settle for her considering she looked just like Katherine and…well she does have some wonderful qualities but I never really, truly loved her.'

Damon clenched his teeth at those words. 'So you were just…using her….as a replacement?'

Stefan narrowed his eyes at Damon. 'Oh come on Damon, we both know the only reason _you _actually ever showed interest in Elena was because of _who_ she looks like.'

'Yeah but the only difference, that I can plainly see now, is that I found out she is better than Katherine ever was. She may look like Katherine but that's where it ends. She doesn't play games with people like little miss psycho vamp!'

Stefan growled once more stood up and lifted his fisted hand, ready to hit Damon across the face.

'Now now boys settle down!'

Stefan and Damon both looked towards the doorway to see Katherine standing there, the only difference was Stefan had a smile on his face while Damon's face had a look of sheer horror on it as he saw Elena's figure slumped over Katherine's shoulder.

Stefan walked over to Katherine and gave her a quick kiss.

'I missed you.'

'Oh I know you did,' Katherine purred to him, running one hand down along his cheek. 'Now that our other little guest of honour is here, let's get this all over with.'

Katherine shot a sinister look at Damon and then handed Elena over to Stefan. Stefan took her and tossed her onto the bed which made Damon tense and growl low in pain and hatred.

'Careful Damon, those ropes could do some serious damage to you if you carry on struggling,' Katherine said as she sat down at the edge of the desk where Stefan had been sitting earlier.

'What do you care? You're going to be killing me in any case,' he growled at her.

'Awww, honey, my plans have changed a little. I still want you alive,' Katherine replied, leaning forward and bringing her hand to his cheek.

Damon pulled back, his face bearing a complete look of disgust.

'What the hell are you talking about Katherine?'

'Well you should know me by now, my plans always change and I no longer want you dead…no I want you alive because I want you to suffer for the rest of your eternal life. I want you to live with the knowledge that you had no way of saving your pathetic little love interest over there. I want you to watch me drain the life out of her, I want to hear your growls and screams of anger as you helplessly struggle to get free to attempt to rescue her but we both know you won't. And then…just as her eyes close for the last time, I will hear that undead heart of yours shatter into a million pieces and die with her and you will be nothing more than an empty, hollow shell for the rest of your existence.'

Damon glared at Katherine and then looked over at Elena on the bed, his eyes filling with pain and a lump forming in his throat as his mind raced with the images of what Katherine just described.

'Why are you doing this Katherine?' He whispered the question to her, finally managing to tear his eyes away from Elena.

Katherine stood up then and glared down at Damon.

'Why am I doing this, you're seriously asking me that? Oh come on Damon I thought you were smarter than this!'

Katherine moved away from her spot and began to pace in front of the desk muttering to herself.

'Well clearly I'm not so how about you stop being such a _bitch_ for a few moments in your existence and tell me.' Damon snapped at her which made Stefan growl.

Katherine stopped pacing and placed her hand on Stefan's shoulder to calm him.

'I'm doing this Damon because _you_ ran off and decided to fall in love with _her_! After you found out I wasn't in that tomb you just stopped looking, you stopped caring and you turned all your attention to that pathetic little human, which I might add absolutely disgusts me because she looks _just like me_! And I don't like that at all. You decided to settle for a copy of me!'

Damon growled low. 'Katherine, you've been alive all these damn years! You've had countless opportunities to let me know that you were alive! But you didn't. You let me run around for the past century and a half trying to get into a tomb you weren't even in. You put me through hell! What did you expect I would do when I found out you were alive all this time? Naturally I'd hate you Katherine, I'm not the kind of person who likes being deceived.'

'Well I didn't expect _you_ to fall for _her_, that's for sure! I mean what the hell do you see in her? What the hell does she have that makes her better than me?'

Damon looked over at Elena, noticing that she was finally coming around.

'She's the complete opposite of you,' he said looking back at Katherine. 'She's warm, she's caring, she's loving and she's willing to fight for those she loves…she even begs and pleads for others when they don't deserve it because even if they don't realize it…she cares about them too. And she always sees the good in others, even when they don't. When she says 'I love you' to someone…she _means it_. You never did. You just said that to keep Stefan and I wrapped around your little finger'

Katherine made a sound of utter disgust and disapproval.

'I feel like throwing up at all of that. I don't see how that makes her better than me but you know what they say; each to their own,' she replied and flashed him a sinister smirk. 'Now, let's get this entire thing over with so that I can move on with my life.'

Katherine moved over to the bed and grabbed Elena who suddenly became very aware of where she was. Damon struggled a little more, wincing in pain as the vervain drenched ropes sliced into his skin a little more. Elena struggled against Katherine's grip, her eyes flashing around the room, first to Katherine, then Stefan and finally settling on Damon. Her eyes were filled with fear and panic.

'Oh God Damon…'

'I'm fine Elena,' he said quickly and looked to Katherine. 'Katherine don't do this please…I'm begging you. Just….let her go and…' Damon swallowed down his disgust. 'Let her go and…I'll go with you.'

Katherine tilted her head to the side as she regarded him for a moment. Stefan burst out laughing and shook his head.

'Oh come on Damon, I thought you would have grasped by now that she doesn't want you anymore.'

'Shut up Stefan!' Damon barked at his brother, his eyes flashing over to him for a moment before returning to Katherine.

Stefan looked over at Katherine, a slight frown on his face as he saw her contemplating it.

'Katherine…you can't seriously be considering this?' Stefan asked, taking a step towards her, a look of sheer worry on his face.

'Oh yeah she is,' Damon whispered with a sinister smirk on his face. 'After all…that's what she's always wanted. She's always wanted a Salvatore brother on each arm, because if she didn't, she wouldn't have started this little game of hers all those years ago.'

Katherine narrowed her eyes at him.

'How can I trust you to keep your word?' she asked, pulling Elena closer to her, tightening her hold on Elena's arm causing Elena to yelp in pain.

Damon's eyes moved to Elena and she shook her head.

'Don't do it Damon,' Elena whispered.

Damon swallowed and looked at Katherine.

'You can trust me because you already know that I'd die for her if it meant saving her life. And if…being with you is the only other way for you to spare her life…then I'll do it.'

Katherine looked down at the floor, taking this all in, clearly trying to make up her mind if this is what she wanted. Elena struggled a little more in Katherine's grip.

'Damon, please don't do this,' she whispered, tears in her eyes at the thought of Damon not being with her, at the thought of him going back to Katherine, not because he loved her but because he wanted her to spare Elena's life. It would kill Elena to know that Damon was out there somewhere and with a woman he didn't love when he could be here with her, a woman he did love and who loved him back. She wouldn't be able to handle that.

'I'm sorry Elena, but I don't want to see you dead. I won't survive that.'

Elena bit back the tears and let her head hang as she silently sobbed.

Stefan looked over to Katherine.

'Katherine, I thought it was only supposed to be you and me. That's what you said to me.'

Katherine looked over at Stefan.

'Hmmm, well yes that is what I said,' she replied and looked over at Damon. 'But having you both, now that would be just delicious,' she purred the final word.

'But he doesn't love you Katherine! I do!'

'You're right he doesn't…but he could learn to love me again I'm sure.'

'Katherine, don't do this again to me please,' Stefan pleaded as he took Katherine's hand in his own. 'Please I'm begging you, don't do this.'

Katherine looked at Stefan now with cold, harsh eyes.

'Stefan, you know I don't like people who tell me what to do. I do as I want, when I want,' she snapped at him and pulled her hand away from his.

She looked from him to Damon.

'As much as that is all very enticing, I think I would prefer seeing you live a life of misery knowing you lost her,' Katherine replied, grabbing Elena by the hair and tugging her head back. 'Maybe, just maybe you'll come crawling back to me after a while. Granted it will probably be so that you can simply see an image of this pathetic little girl again…but I'm sure that eventually you'll grow to love me again. Hmmm…yes I like that plan better. I can be very patient if I want to.'

Damon struggled once more, as he saw the resolve in her eyes, knowing that her plan was final. Stefan moved away from Katherine, a look of pain on his face and he turned to look out the window, wanting to hide the look on his face.

'Well I suggest that if you have any final words to say to Elena, you say them now.'

Damon growled low his eyes darting between Katherine and Elena and then finally locking on Elena's as he watched her struggle against Katherine's grip, the tears falling silently down her cheeks.

'Elena….I…I love you,' Damon whispered to her, feeling his own eyes seem to burn as tears filled them.

'Oh how sweet,' Katherine hissed low.

'I…I love you Damon,' Elena whispered through soft sobs.

Katherine rolled her eyes. 'Hmmm….wait I have something to add to this little 'good-bye,' a little clip from Elena's journal.' Katherine chimed in and reached into her jacket pocket to pull out the journal. 'I think you should hear exactly how she felt when you left Damon,' Katherine added in, her lips falling into a playful pout. She set the book down on the bed and flipped through it until she found the right place. She tightened her grip on Elena's hair and then picked up the journal.

'Alright here it is. This will give you something else to live with Damon:

"_Dear Diary,_

_A few days have passed and still...No Damon. In fact the 'few days' seemed to have turned into almost a week and a half now. I've felt completely numb and I haven't felt like this since my parents died. People have noticed because I haven't exactly been able to pull off the 'I'm fine' line and fake smile that goes with it all too well. _

_I got cornered by Bonnie and Caroline about two days ago after school and they were not going to let me leave until I agreed to tell them what was going on. According to Caroline I have been like some 'programmed robot', I just do as I've been programmed to do and I don't ask questions. I agreed to tell them what was happening and I really dreaded it...and that dread was the first feeling I've had in over a week. I met them at The Grill last night and I spilled the beans on what had happened and as I did...all those old wounds just seemed to be sliced right open with a blade covered in salt. Natrually Bonnie and Caroline immediately started with the 'Are you crazy Elena! Damon Salvatore is NO GOOD for you' speech. And that speech really didn't help at all. It just made the wounds worse and brought about a fresh lot of tears...crying...something else I haven't done in over a week. Obviously when I started to cry they felt really bad and comforted me, whispering to me that they're just trying to make me see the truth about him, a truth they say I should already know about him. I told them they were wrong, that we were all wrong about him. Fair enough he had done a lot of things in this town that even had me against him, but I told them that he had another completely different side to him. A side that loved me and a side he only ever really showed to me. Eventually they caved in and told me that they were sorry for yelling and that they would attempt to give him a chance but they would be watching him very closely...Especially Bonnie. I told them that I didn't know if he was going to be coming back because 'a few days' to me did not interpret into a week and a half. A week and a half was a week and a half and a few days was a few days. But Caroline was there to try and re-assure me that in 'guy terms' a few days usually meant a week or a little more. It hasn't made me feel any better but I will try and hold onto that. _

_I guess I really needed to talk to my friends about all of this because in a way I do feel a little better than I was yesterday. I don't feel so numb anymore. I just really hope he comes back soon because he's all I've been able to think about and I've practiced my entire speech to him over and over again, so much so that I could probably say it in my sleep. Now I have to get ready to face another day at school. Thank goodness it's a Friday. "_

Katherine snapped the book shut and looked over at Damon.

'Now you have something else to bear with you for eternity, knowing just what she had suffered when you decided to leave for so long.'

Damon looked at Katherine and then at Elena, he had been able to see a flicker of pain in her eyes when they had spoken, when they had rested on him outside her school, but she had done a really good job of hiding it so completely from him. He didn't know just what she had been through and now probably wouldn't ever know the full extent of the hell she went through while he was gone. All he knew was he had been given enough to torture him for the rest of his existence.

'Elena…I'm…I'm so sorry,' he whispered, his eyes filled with pain and regret.

Elena shook her head slightly, drew in a staggered breath and let it out. 'Don't apologize.'

Katherine growled low. 'Enough of the heart felt, soppy moments…the time to finish this is now!'

Katherine's eyes blackened and her fangs lengthened. She brought her mouth down and then stopped suddenly.

Damon looked away from Elena to Katherine as he noticed her stopping. Katherine's face was a mixture of pain and complete shock. Suddenly she let go of Elena and slumped to the floor. Elena looked down at Katherine's slumped form on the floor and then up to see Alaric standing there, his eyes moving from Katherine up to Elena.

'Alaric!' Damon and Elena both said at the same time which brought Stefan's attention. He turned around and growled low as he saw Katherine on the floor.

'What the hell have you done?'

Stefan growled low and lunged at Alaric.

Damon struggled, growling in pain and anger and eventually managed to somehow break free of his restraints, lunging at his brother to stop him from attacking Alaric.

'Take Elena and Katherine and get them out of here!' Damon yelled as he did his best to hold off his brother.

'Why take Katherine!' Elena exclaimed.

Alaric grabbed Katherine and threw her over his shoulder and took Elena by the arm.

'Because she's only knocked out by the vervain, she's not dead…yet. Now let's go,' Alaric said and dragged her out of the room as the growls became louder and a full blown fight broke out between Damon and Stefan.

Elena followed Alaric downstairs and out of the boarding house. Alaric laid Katherine down on the ground and looked her over still in complete shock at how much she and Elena looked alike.

'I can't believe it,' he muttered to himself and looked at Elena. 'How is this possible?'

Elena shrugged. "I don't know and I don't really care all I want now is for this to be over.'

Elena began to pace and her heart raced every time she heard something crash inside. She ran a hand through her hair and just prayed that Damon wasn't too weak to fight off Stefan. She prayed that Damon would be the one who walked out of this alive. Elena and Alaric both spun around to face the house when a loud crash rumbled and glass sprayed out onto the front lawn and two bodies thudded to the ground. Elena gasped as she saw Damon's blood stained, ripped clothing. She could tell he was growing weaker, she could see he was struggling.

'Alaric do something!' she yelled.

Alaric rushed over to his car and pulled out a cross bow with arrows, each arrow tip coated with vervain. He came back and pointed the crossbow towards the now brawling brothers.

'I can't get a good shot!' he yelled in frustration.

Stefan pinned Damon down to the ground, let out a low growl and just as he was about to lean down to tear at his brother's throat Alaric fired the first arrow.

The arrow whistled through the air and hit into Stefan's chest. Stefan's eyes widened in shock and then another arrow whistled through the air and hit into his chest again. The vervain began to work right away and eventually Stefan collapsed onto the ground next to Damon, his breathing ragged and his body growing weaker. Damon stumbled up to his feet and then made his way over to them. Elena gasped when she saw the deep bite marks all over him along with a few cuts here and there from the glass. His hair was plastered to his face, matted with blood. Elena and Alaric rushed over to him to catch him before he fell.

'Her…her necklace…take it…take it off.' He whispered to them, through ragged breaths.

Alaric nodded to Elena who moved out from under Damon's arm and leaned down over Katherine. She grabbed the necklace and ripped it away from her neck before moving back to Damon.

'Now what do we do?'

'We wait for the sun to come up. I'm guessing Alaric here made that dart especially potent so she'll be out for a while.'

Elena looked from Damon to Alaric. 'How did you know where we were?'

'I saw her taking you out of The Grill. I figured that must have been Katherine and considering that she had made Damon and Stefan, I figured she was quite old so I just increased to amount of vervain in the dart.'

'How…how did you know her name?'

'Stefan told me the story once about her. I just, well I never knew she looked _exactly _like you Elena. So I figured if that was her then she'd only go to one place and that was here.'

Elena nodded her head slowly.

'Thank you Ric, for coming. If it hadn't been for you…well… we all know it could have gone.'

Alaric smiled and then they walked towards the house, carrying Damon with them.

Once they were inside they placed him on the chair gently.

'I'm going to go and get Stefan.' Alaric said and disappeared outside.

Elena turned to look at Damon, brushing his hair out of his face as best she could.

'Damon you need blood.'

'Yeah…there's…there are a few bags in the refrigerator still,' he whispered, wincing as he moved to get a little more comfortable. 'I'll bear with them…being cold,' he added, trying to pull off his trade mark smirk.

Elena got up and walked to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and found three blood packs in it. She grabbed them and headed back into the parlor, handing them to Damon. He sat up slowly and took the first one in his hands. He pierced through the bag with his fangs and drank down the cold blood hungrily, grunts and groans escaping him as he felt the blood healing his wounds and bringing back his strength. Just as he finished off the third one, Alaric returned, dragging Stefan in behind him. He set Stefan down on the floor in the parlor and then took a seat, letting out a heavy sigh and running his hand over his face which didn't hide how exhausted all of this had made him. Elena looked down at Stefan and shook her head.

'I still can't believe he…he would actually let her kill me.'

Damon frowned as he looked first at Stefan and then at Elena.

'He…never really loved you Elena,' he whispered, taking her hand in his.

'What do you mean?'

Damon sighed. 'He told me…I asked him when he had stopped loving you. He told me he never really did love you. He was willing to settle with you because you looked like Katherine but…he never truly loved you.'

Elena shook her head and then glared at Stefan.

'Wow, and here I thought you were a complete ass…looks like the award for being a complete disappointment and the biggest asshole in the world goes to your brother,' Elena replied in a cold, harsh tone and her comment just made Damon smile.

He looked down to hide his smile and then he became serious. He looked up at Elena.

'I'm so sorry Elena.'

Elena turned and looked at him, a slight frown of confusion on her face.

'Sorry for what Damon?'

'I'm sorry…for being away so long. I'm sorry that is caused you that much pain. I really didn't know…'

Elena placed her finger to his lips. 'Sssshhhh, it's okay Damon,' she replied, a warm smile on her lips. 'You couldn't have known how it would have affected me because you didn't know exactly how I felt about you.'

'Yeah but…I should have stayed and let you explain then…'

'Sshhh, Damon, really it's okay. I accept your apology, even though I really don't blame you for anything. I accept it and I forgive you if that's what you want from me. Now please, let's just put all of this behind us and move forward. Get past all of this and try and get some form of normalcy in our lives again.'

Damon sighed and nodded in agreement with her, leaving it at that, knowing that he craved to have some form of 'normalcy' in his undead life too.

Damon stood up and walked into the kitchen to dispose of the blood bags. He came back and looked over at his brother, growling low and then at Alaric.

'I'm going to go and have a shower and get cleaned up. Then I'll try clean up this place as best I could. Keep an eye on him and when he wakes up, call me.'

Alaric nodded and then walked over to the tray of drinks and poured himself a Scotch.

'Yeah just go ahead and help yourself,' Damon said sarcastically.

'Hey, I had just as much of a rough night as you did, I think I'm entitled to a simple 'help myself without asking' drink,' Alaric replied and sat back down, sipping on the drink.

Damon shook his head and then looked to Elena.

'I'll be as quick as I can,' he whispered and leaned down to kiss her softly.

Elena smiled and nodded.

Damon headed upstairs and into his room. He pulled out a fresh set of clothes, his usual choice of black and then headed into the bathroom to shower. For a few moments he simply stood beneath the hot spray of water, watching the blood swirl down the drain. His mind played back everything that had happened. He truly hoped that now he would just get a break from this all. For once Damon found himself wishing for a boring day. A day where nothing happened, a day where he would just have no unexpected visitors, no one trying to kill him…a normal 'human' day and preferably one with Elena. Damon let out a long sigh and then began to wash up. He got out, dried off and got dressed. Once he was done and feeling a lot better, he began to clean up the shattered glass where he could, the broken furniture and anything else that had been shattered in the fight with Stefan. He dragged all of it downstairs and tossed it out with the garbage.

'Damon, Stefan is awake!' Alaric called from the parlor.

Damon turned around and marched into the parlor. He saw Stefan on his knees and a low growled rumbled through him. He raised his hand and brought it down against his brother's jaw, his body shaking with anger and rage. He brought his hand up again to hit him but Alaric stepped in front of him.

'Damon, don't do it!' Elena yelled from behind him and it was her protest that really stopped him from doing it again.

He put his hand down and looked over his shoulder at Elena.

'Why shouldn't I beat the hell out of him? Why shouldn't I kill him?' he asked through gritted teeth.

Elena took a step over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and gently turned him around to face her. She placed her hands on his cheeks and looked into his eyes.

'Because you are better than he is Damon, because you have the chance to be the better man and not stoop down to his level,' she whispered.

Damon's anger faded and his expression softened. He placed his hands over hers and sighed, nodding his head slowly, slightly hating the fact that she was right because every fiber in his entire being wanted to do nothing else but kill his brother…for the first time in over a century he truly wanted to kill his brother and his words were no longer empty. He turned away from Elena and looked at his brother who now stood up warily, his eyes cold and sinister as he glared back at Damon.

'Stefan, I want you to leave and never come back to Mystic Falls because if I so much as catch the slightest bit of your scent anywhere near here I promise you that I _will _kill you.'

'Where's Katherine?' he whispered.

Damon smirked and looked at the clock on the mantle above the fire place and then back at his brother. Just then a blood curdling scream filled the early hours of the morning for a few moments until there was utter silence and nothing but the smell of a burnt corpse out on the front lawn.

'I believe that was her final 'good-bye' scream for you, brother. Now you can wander around for the rest of eternity feeling empty, appearing as nothing more than a hollow shell of your former self and _you_ can live with the fact that there was _nothing _you could have done to save her.'

Stefan looked as though he was going to be sick and for a moment it looked like he even contemplated attacking Damon again. Stefan's glare moved from Damon then over to Alaric before it finally came to rest on Elena making her skin seem to crawl at the anger and pain behind it.

'I'll be back one day, brother, and when I do I'll come for _her_,' he growled the words at Damon but his eyes remained locked on Elena.

'I'll be ready for you so if you are planning your little revenge I suggest you try something a little stronger than Bambi blood. Now get out!'

Stefan straightened himself up best he could and then slowly limped out of the house. Damon, Elena and Alaric followed him to make sure he left. They watched him as he looked down at the pile of ashes lying on the front lawn where Katherine had been. He stood there for a few moments longer and then made his way into the woods, disappearing from their site.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and then headed back inside. Alaric grabbed his jacket that he had taken off when he had first arrived here and then looked at them both.

'I have to get going,' he looked at Elena. 'I'm going to have to do some serious sucking up to your aunt in order to make up for leaving dinner last night.'

Elena smiled. 'I'm sure she will understand that you had to go. But if you want to really apologize to her I suggest a _huge_ bouquet of red roses and a night out at a fancy restaurant.'

Alaric smiled and nodded. 'Alright, noted. I'll see you around.'

Alaric nodded at both of them and then headed out of the house. Elena turned to Damon, pulled him close and kissed him, her fingers grasping onto the collar of his shirt so tightly that her knuckles were going white. Eventually she pulled away, her breathing shallow.

'What…was that…for?' Damon whispered breathlessly, completely taken by surprise by the kiss.

'Just a…'I'm so glad you're alright' kiss' she replied with a smile.

Damon looked at her and ran his hand through her hair, taking in her soft features, breathing in her sweet scent.

'Well thank you. Now, let's sneak you home so that Jenna doesn't worry about you,' Damon said with a smirk.

'I have one last question to ask before we go.'

Damon nodded.

'How was Stefan so strong? I mean if he hasn't turned to drinking human blood again, how is it that he was that strong?'

Damon sighed. 'Well I don't _know_ for sure that he hasn't been drinking human blood again, but the sort of power he had only came from drinking Katherine's blood. But _if_ he hasn't been drinking human blood again, well he has reason now to start. But let's not think about that. Let's leave him and this whole mess behind us.'

Elena nodded, let out a sigh and then smiled.

'Yeah let's do that. Now you can sneak me back home.'

Damon chuckled softly as they headed out the house.

Within a few minutes Elena found herself at home and being snuck through her bedroom window. Once she was inside she turned around to look at Damon.

'Do I still get my date tonight?' she whispered as she took her journal from him.

'Of course you do.' He whispered back.

Elena smiled and leaned down to kiss him.

'Oh, I uh…have something that belongs to you,' she whispered sheepishly to him and turned to her chest of drawers, opened the second to last drawer and rummaged through it.

'Well I would love an item of your sexy lingerie collection to take home with me,' Damon teased with his trade mark smirk on his face.

Elena rolled her eyes and then stood up when she found his shirt. She turned around and held it out to him. Damon took the shirt, looked at it and frowned.

'What is this?'

'It's uh…it's your shirt. I took it from the house…the night you left,' Elena whispered, her head down and her cheeks flushed red.

Damon looked down at the shirt again, smiled and then climbed through her window. He pulled her close and kissed her softly, understanding why she took it in the first place.

'You could have kept it you know,' he whispered to her.

'I know…but it's one of your favourite shirts and I figured you may want it back.'

Damon smiled and then held it up and inhaled it deeply catching the scent of her all over it.

'Mmmm…well now it's my all time favourite,' he whispered and then kissed her once more.

Elena smiled beneath the kiss and then pulled away slowly.

'You better get going,' she whispered to him.

Damon sighed and nodded his head.

'Get some sleep and sweet dreams,' he whispered and then he was gone.

Elena walked to the window, shut it and locked it. She got changed into her pajamas and then climbed into bed. She cried silently as she replayed what had happened but she fell asleep with a smile on her face because she knew it was all over and she had a wonderful date to look forward to.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you so, so much for all the wonderful reviews I have received on this story and I'm sure many of you are thinking that there will be a sequel to this….well you're right J There will be a sequel but it may not be up for some time. After this story I will be focusing on writing up a manuscript to send into a publishing house so my attention will be focused on that. But when season two of The Vampire Diaries starts again I'm sure some episode will spark some idea and I'll take some time away to write up a storm for that J **

**So here is Chapter Twelve which will probably be the final chapter. Enjoy and please review, review, review J **

_Elena walked to the window, shut it and locked it. She got changed into her pajamas and then climbed into bed. She cried silently as she replayed what had happened but she fell asleep with a smile on her face because she knew it was all over and she had a wonderful date to look forward to. _

**Chapter Twelve: **

Elena sat straight up in her bed, the quiet of her room filled with nothing but her heavy breathing. Her hair was plastered to her face and her sheets were wet with sweat. The images of her nightmares still swirled in front of her and she felt soft sobs break through. She gasped when she felt someone pull her back and hold her against them. She tried to struggle, afraid that maybe she was still dreaming and whoever this was meant to harm her.

'Elena sshh, it's me.'

Elena's entire body relaxed as she heard Damon's deep, sultry voice in her ear. She clutched at his shirt and buried her face deeper into his chest as she continued to sob.

'It's okay, they were just bad dreams Elena,' he whispered to her, running his hand through her hair, doing his best to remove the hair from her face.

Elena continued to sob quietly for a few more moments and then she was completely calm. Her heart was no longer pounding in her ears and her breathing was slow and steady. She pulled back from Damon and wiped her eyes before looking at him.

'What…how come…'

Damon flashed her a smile as he lounged on her bed.

'I didn't go home. I was outside keeping watch. I didn't expect Stefan to come back but…well I wasn't going to take the chance and leave you here alone. You started tossing and turning in your sleep, started muttering something about Katherine.'

Elena nodded slowly and looked down.

'My dreams were filled with her and…and Stefan. They were filled with images of what could have happened if Alaric hadn't been there,' Elena whispered and her body shuddered as a shiver of fear raced up her spine.

Damon pulled her back to him and hugged her tightly.

'Don't even think about that anymore. Alaric _was_ there and that's all that matters. We survived it and now, even if it is for the shortest time, let's just forget all about it and move on,' Damon whispered against her hair.

Elena closed her eyes as she let out a sigh.

'You're right.'

There was a knock at the door and within seconds Damon was out of the window, taking Elena by surprise.

'Elena, are you up?' came Jenna's muffled voice through the door.

Elena settled down into her bed and tried to not have a shocked look on her face and more one of just waking up.

'Uh, yeah Jenna I am,' she replied, doing her best to act 'sleepy'.

Jenna opened the door and came in. She smiled at Elena and then sat down on the edge of the bed.

'You do realize it's almost 10 am right?'

Elena frowned and looked at the time. 'Oh. Right, uh well I guess I stayed out a little later than I intended to with Bonnie and Caroline,' she replied with a nervous laugh.

Jenna smiled and then became serious.

'So um, how are things with you and Damon?'

Elena smiled and looked down at her duvet. 'They're good. We talked it all out and we have a date tonight. Dinner and a movie at his place,' Elena replied looking up at Jenna.

Jenna smiled. 'Well I'm glad to hear that, I really am.'

'So how was your date last night?'

Jenna sighed and shook her head. 'Ugh, it was going so well…up until the point where he suddenly had to leave. Some emergency came up and he just had to go. He's a little strange at times.'

'But he's still far better than _some_ of the men you've dated. I'm sure he had a valid reason to go and I'm sure he's the type of guy who wouldn't just up and leave a date if he had no other choice.'

Jenna smiled and looked towards the window.

'Yeah, I know. And you're right, he is _far_ better than….well most of the men I've dated actually,' she replied laughing softly.

Elena threw the covers back and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

'Well let me get ready for the day.'

'How about you and me do a little shopping? You can get something for your date tonight,' Jenna said winking at Elena.

'Sounds like a great plan.'

'Alright, I'll be downstairs when you're ready. We'll stop at The Grill for some breakfast.'

'Okay.'

Jenna smiled, got up and headed out of the room. Elena walked towards the window and looked out. Damon wasn't around. She sighed and headed towards the bathroom but stopped when she saw her phone light up. She picked it up and smiled when she saw it was a text from Damon.

_**I'll pick you up tonight at about six o' clock. You better pick out something sexy to wear tonight when you do your shopping with Jenna ;) **_

_**See you later. **_

_**Love Damon**_

Elena smiled at the text message and then tossed her phone onto the bed. She walked into the bathroom to get ready. An hour later her and Jenna were heading off to town for a late breakfast and shopping.

The day in town was something Elena desperately needed to give her back a sense of normalcy in her life. It was filled with jokes and laughter. Jenna and her stopped off at a costume store and tried on all the costumes, laughing at each other as they came out wearing some of the most outrageous things. It was well after three o clock in the afternoon when Jenna and her finally got home. They had met up with Alaric in town and he had followed Elena's advice. Jenna walked through to the kitchen to put her beautiful bouquet of flowers into a vase before she headed up to her room to get ready for a dinner date with Alaric. He hadn't told her where they were going but Elena knew it must be somewhere fancy. Elena walked into her room and closed her door. She set her things down and searched for her diary. She flopped down onto the bed and opened it up to a fresh page and began to write, her mind feeling calm and coherent for the first time in what seemed to be ages.

_Dear Diary, _

_I had my first dose of normalcy today. Jenna and I spent the day shopping and tonight I will be going to Damon's house for dinner and a movie. Something else that is normal…well apart from the fact that Damon is a vampire but in my world that has become classified as something that is 'normal' to me. _

_But I have to re-cap what happened last night even though I really don't want to. But if I don't I know I will only regret it at a later stage because I know this is one way for me to get over something that has happened, to move forward in my life. So here it goes. _

_Katherine came back last night and so did Stefan. She was after Damon and I, well me mostly. She wanted me dead and she was going to kill me in front of Damon. I was so afraid and I hated seeing Damon in so much pain. They had bound him to a chair using vervain drenched ropes. She was going to kill me, I was so sure of that; and she wasn't happy to just let Damon live with the fact that he probably couldn't save me, no she had to go one step further and read from my journal and expose how I felt and what I went through when he had left. In that point in time I wished that I was stronger than her because I wanted to snap her neck. She had no right reading that. The look on Damon's face simply made my heart break. I didn't want him to know any of that because it was all in the past. I had managed to move on from it and the fact that he came back just really made that whole nightmare of a week completely null and void in my mind. I had moved on but know _SHE_ had to go and bring it all back. I had told him I loved him and that was the last thing I had wanted him to hear before she killed me. That was the one thing I had wanted him to know but Katherine made sure our…'good-bye' would not end on a happy note. Just when I was meant to feel her fangs pierce my neck, luck turned in our favour with Alaric arriving to help save the day. _

_He darted her with a strong dose of vervain and then of course all hell broke lose when Damon managed to break free and stop Stefan from attacking Alaric. A huge fight broke out between the Salvatore brothers and I was praying like I have never prayed before that Damon would not be killed. So, to sum it all up: Katherine has turned to dust; Stefan is now out there somewhere plotting his eventual revenge on Damon, Alaric and…me. We killed Katherine and that is something that he did not take lightly even though Katherine was willing to continue her little game that involved both the brothers. Damon had wanted to kill Stefan but I stopped him. He had to be better than Stefan was. I wouldn't have Damon stoop down to Stefan's level. _

_And that is all I'm going to say about last night because the images are still fresh in my mind and this is something I will definitely not forget and every time I read over this I will remember it all as if it only happened yesterday. _

_I have to get ready for tonight and I am really looking forward to it. One night that will HOPEFULLY go smoothly with no interruptions of any sort. Just one NORMAL night with no tears of sadness, no dwelling on the past, no apologies or explanations of any sort. Just me, Damon, dinner and a movie, that's all I am asking for. _

Elena closed her journal and put it back in its secret hiding place. She walked into the bathroom to get ready for her date, a smile on her face.

At six o clock there came a knock at the door and Elena walked down the stairs wearing a black thin strap dress that hugged her body and rested just above her knees. She had on a simple pair of black high heel shoes and some of her hair was clipped back to keep it out of her face. She threw on a light black jacket and opened the door. Damon stood on the porch, clad in his usual choice of black pants, black button up shirt and his leather jacket. As the door opened he turned around and his eyes widened slightly as they roamed over Elena.

'What?' Elena asked, suddenly feeling a little nervous, wondering if maybe he didn't like what she was wearing.

He looked up at her, shook his head slightly then smiled. 'Wow, you uh…you look…amazing.' He replied.

Elena smiled. 'Thank you.'

She stepped out onto the porch and then turned to lock the door.

'Where's Jenna?'

'Alaric picked her about twenty minutes ago.'

'The 'I'm sorry for ditching you at dinner' dinner date?' Damon asked with a smirk on his face.

Elena turned to face him and laughed. 'Yeah, the 'I'm sorry for ditching you at dinner' dinner date,' she replied shaking her head slightly as they walked down the steps and to the car.

Damon opened the passenger side door for her and held out his hand to help her get into the car. Once she was settled he moved to the driver's side, got in and then headed off to the boarding house.

'Do you like seafood?'

'Yeah I do.'

'Good because I'm making us lobster,' Damon replied, flashing a smile at her.

Elena smiled back and then looked out the window, her hand finding its way on his leg as they drove.

Damon pulled up to the boarding house and opened the door for Elena. He took her hand and walked up to the house. He opened the door and stepped aside to allow Elena to enter. Elena smiled at him and walked inside, gasping slightly as she looked around. Everywhere she looked there were candles. They were lined up along the passage way and as she entered the parlor she saw a few situated around the room and the fire blazing in the fireplace. She turned around to look at Damon who was leaning against the wall casually watching her.

'Damon…this…is…' she was just speechless.

Damon smiled slightly and walked over to her taking her hands into his and kissing them softly.

'I guess I was really looking forward to having this nice, normal evening with you that I might have gone a little overboard with the candles and 'setting the mood.'' he replied as he looked around.

Elena shook her head. 'No it's…perfect,' she whispered and smiled at him.

Damon smiled at her approval.

'Right, time for me to get busy with the cooking,' he said and headed into the kitchen.

Elena followed.

'Can I help with anything?'

'Hmmmm,' Damon looked at her making it seem as though he was seriously contemplating that. 'Yes there is,' he finally replied and walked over to her. He placed his hands on her hips and moved her back against the counter, his eyes locked on hers, a smirk on his face as he heard the pounding of her heart. 'You can stand right here, pour yourself a glass of wine, don't worry I won't tell your aunt that you were drinking, and keep me company while I prepare this delicious meal.'

Elena swallowed and nodded. 'I can do that.'

Damon smiled at her. 'Good.'

He stepped back and then began to get everything he needed to prepare the meal.

For the next hour and a half while Damon worked his way around the kitchen preparing the meal, Elena, now settled comfortably on top of the counter, legs crossed, sat and sipped on her wine and talked to Damon about this and that. It amazed her that she was actually talking to Damon about all these trivial things in her life, things that she was sure would bore him to death and things he'd never really care to listen about. But Damon was listening, Damon was paying attention to every single word she said and he would give her information about his life when she asked him. She was seeing behind the veil once more. The walls were now completely gone, crumbled and washed away by the conversation and she seemed to be falling more and more in love with Damon the more she got to know him, the more she learned about him.

'Alright, dinner is…served,' Damon said as he finished dishing the food up onto the last plate.

He picked them up and looked to Elena.

'Bring the wine and another glass and follow me.'

Damon headed out of the kitchen, plates in hand and walked into the dining room area. Elena grabbed another glass, the wine and followed him through. She set the wine on the table and Damon pulled out her chair for her to sit down once he had set the plates down.

'Thank you Damon.'

'It's my pleasure,' he winked at her and then took up a seat next to her.

Elena began to eat and complimented him on his wonderful cooking skills once again. The dinner was silent most of the time with a few comments here and there as is always the case when food is so good.

Once Elena had finished her dinner, Damon cleared away their plates and returned a few minutes later and set down a bowl in front of Elena. On one side of the bowl there was whipped cream and on the other a thick chocolate pudding. Both sides had a few strawberries nestled on top of them. Damon sat down and took a sip of his wine. Elena frowned as she noticed his the empty spot in front of him.

'Where's yours?'

Damon shrugs. 'I didn't really feel like having dessert,' he replied, his eyes seeming to glimmer with mischief.

Elena narrowed her eyes and smiled at him. 'Okay.'

She picked up one of the strawberries that was dipped with chocolate and took a bite, the taste making her moan softly.

'Mmmm, these are really sweet strawberries,' she said as she chewed and looked at Damon.

'Then you approve of the dessert?'

'Mmmm, yes I definitely do,' Elena replied and finished off the strawberry.

Damon watched her as she ate a few more and then he laughed softly when she was finished.

Elena frowned. 'What?'

Damon pointed to his own lips. 'You uh…have a little something on your lips.'

Elena gasped and reached for her mouth feeling highly embarrassed. Damon grabbed her hand.

'Allow me.'

He pulled her to him, making her sit in his lap. He brushed her hair from her face, leaned up and ran his tongue slowly along her lips before sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and licking the chocolate off.

Elena's heart raced and she moaned, her eyes closing as her body tingled and began to heat up from his actions. He pulled away and looked up at her.

'All gone,' he whispered, his hot breath brushing over her lips.

Elena opened her eyes slowly and looked at Damon, the intensity of his ice blue eyes making her moan once again and just like that something in her snapped. She crushed her lips to Damon's in a fierce and passionate kiss, her hands moving into his hair and tugging at it gently. Her actions caught him off guard and a low growl rumbled through his chest. Elena swiveled herself to get more comfortable now straddling his lap, her heart pounding and her body feeling as though every single nerve ending in it was completely exposed and the slightest brush of her body against his made her moan. Damon moved his hands down her sides and gripped her hips, his tongue darting into her mouth, her hot breath colliding with his own in moans and gasps of pleasure. Swiftly Damon moved them upstairs to his room. Elena's hands worked to remove his jacket, tossing it to the floor, her fingers fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, soft moans escaping and flowing into the heated kiss. Damon's hands swiftly pulled the zipper of her dress down, his fingers dancing lightly over the exposed skin of her back which made Elena shiver with delight. Elena's hands reached the buckle on his belt and some part of Damon skidded to a screeching halt.

He broke the kiss and stopped her hand as it worked the buckle loose. Elena looked up at him, her eyes glazed over with desire and lust, her brows furrowed.

'What, what is it?' she asked in a breathy whisper.

Damon looked at her. 'I…' he swallowed. 'Are you sure you want to do this? I just… I don't want you to regret it,' he whispered, frowning slightly.

Elena nodded her head slowly. 'I want this Damon. So please, don't deny me it. Just let me enjoy one night of everything being completely normal. Let me enjoy this normal evening…with the man I love.' She whispered to him.

Damon's intense desire to have her returned like a raging fire. He captured her lips once more in a passionate kiss and slipped her dress off her body. Elena worked the buckle on his belt loose, loosened the button and pulled the zipper on his pants down. They both stepped out of their constricting clothing as Damon pushed her backwards towards the bed. He picked Elena up into his arms and placed her on the bed, his eyes locking with hers as he moved his body over hers, a sigh escaping him as her hot skin brushed against his. Damon began a trail of soft kisses along Elena's neck, growling low as he felt her pulse beneath his lips. He drew in a deep breath and then continued down the length of her neck. His hands swiftly removed her bra and tossed it to the ground as his lips moved over her collarbone and worked their way down. Elena's breathing was already wild and erratic as she squirmed beneath him, biting her lower lip as she watched him move down. Damon took one of her nipples into his mouth, his tongue flicking over it slowly while his fingers found the other and began to tease it. Elena gasped and arched her back up to him, her hands snaking into his hair and tugging it gently. Damon's own body reacted to hers, feeling his arousal increasing. He moved further down, his lips leaving a trail of kisses down along her stomach, his tongue flicking over her skin, groaning softly as he took in the taste of her skin.

Elena moaned softly her body squirming and writhing, pleading for him to take her, to give her what she craved, to give her what she needed. Damon slid his fingers beneath the thin fabric of her underwear and gently tugged them down and over her legs, tossing them one side. He parted her legs and slowly leaned down between them, inhaling the scent of her arousal, another low growl rumbling through him. He ran his tongue gently along her wet slit and enveloped his lips around her swollen bundle of nerves causing Elena to gasp, arch her back and grip the covers on his bed. She whispered his name in a moan of pleasure as his tongue flicked over her swollen bud, his fingers sliding into her hot wet core, the feel of her causing him to twitch and throb. He teased her for a few moments, savouring the taste of her sweetness, enjoying her moans of pleasure as they became louder.

'Damon…please….I…need to…feel you…stop…teasing,' she whispered to him breathlessly and in a pleading tone.

That was all he needed. He moved his lips to hers, parted her legs a little more and slowly slid deep inside of her, feeling her hot wetness wrapping around him completely. He looked down at her as he began to thrust slowly in and out of her, groans of pleasure escaping him. Elena raked her fingers down his back which only made him thrust harder and faster. Her heart was pounding, ringing in his ears, the scent of her arousal mixed with the scent of her blood only made him feel more like a crazed vampire. As things grew hotter between them Damon felt his fangs lengthen and begin to ache. He closed his eyes not wanting Elena to see him like this.

'Open….your eyes….Damon…please don't… hide from me,' she whispered through moans of pleasure.

Damon's eyes opened at her words and he looked at her. She gasped slightly but then moaned a little louder. Her eyes locked with his as she watched the whites of them turning blood red and that seemed to make his ice blue eyes seem so much more intense. Elena turned her head to the side, exposing her neck to him.

'Do it,' she whispered.

Damon growled low. 'Elena are you…'

'Do it Damon!' she groaned and clawed his back with one hand while the other snaked into his hair and pushed his head down to her neck.

Damon growled a little louder, unable to resist anymore. His fangs sank into her neck causing her body to arch and a scream mixed with pleasure and pain to echo through the room. Damon groaned at the sweet taste of her blood and began to thrust faster. Within a matter of minutes Elena let out another scream of pleasure as her orgasm broke and washed over her and Damon groaned against her neck as his own broke with hers, both their bodies wracked with waves of pleasure, shuddering and tensing as wave after wave crashed over them.

Elena breathed heavily against his skin and Damon removed his fangs from her neck, licking the wound clean and then his lips, making sure he got in every drop of her sweet blood and wondered if he would ever be able to drink any other blood but hers. He was addicted to her after one taste. He looked down at her and smiled slightly as he saw the blissful smile playing across her lips.

'Need I ask if you enjoyed that?' he whispered.

Elena shook her head. 'I'm sure by the look on my face you can tell that I enjoyed that….immensely.'

Damon looked at her neck. 'Hmmm, well you may need to wear a scarf for a few days,' he said with a smirk. 'Unless of course you want to let the vampire out of the bag and tell Jenna.'

Elena laughed and shook her head. 'No I'm not quite ready to tell her that.'

Damon moved onto the bed, laying on his back and pulling Elena into his arms, his fingers running lightly up and down her arm. Elena snuggled up to Damon, resting her head on his chest and pulling the covers up over them both.

'Well I suppose Katherine was right in one respect.'

'Way to ruin the mood Elena,' Damon replied, rolling his eyes.

Elena looked up at him and chuckled softly. 'Sorry I didn't mean to,' she said and bit her lip.

Damon looked at her. 'Well, go on, purge whatever it is you wanted to say.'

Elena smiled. 'Well I was going to say that Katherine was right about one thing,' Elena said, flushing slightly. 'I think I've definitely been craving something….a little….wilder.'

Damon flashed Elena his trademark smirk and then winked at her. 'Hmmm, is that the truth?'

'The whole truth and nothing but the truth Damon,' she replied, leaning up to kiss him softy.

The two curled up beneath the covers, talking and laughing, enjoying the peace and quiet, enjoying the feel of being so close and so intimate….enjoying a day of normalcy because they did not know how long this 'normal life' would last.


End file.
